The Thief
by McDiggin'It
Summary: They're thieves and highly trained manipulators. But their new target is not so easy to rob. Morgana realizes that she's not as good at lying and stealing as she thought, and their target turns out to always be one step ahead of them. On HIATUS
1. Chapter 1

Title: The Thief

A/N: So I decided to write this after watching a bunch of crime films because I was bored. It gave me a plot that I pictured with the cast of Merlin. I know, it's pathetic. But I'm not losing anything so what the heck. Hope you like it! R&R!

-McDiggin'It

Summary: They're thieves and highly trained manipulators. But their new target is not so easy to rob. Morgana realizes that she's not as good at lying and stealing as she thought, and their target turns out to always be one step ahead of them.

...

Chapter One:

...

She's thief. A master manipulator. A woman. And a highly desirable one too. Her older sister had made sure she was trained in the ways of a true seductress.

Their job is risky, but easy. They go to large business functions, economic forum conferences, invitation-only events, and they scope out rich, single men who are looking for a good time. They get themselves invited to said rich men's homes, and from there, all they have to do, is disarm the alarm and CTV systems in the house. The rest, is just acting surprised and scared as the remainder of their team breaks in to the house, threatens and ties up the rich owner of the house, and steals everything of value, including the usually hidden vaults.

They liquidate everything, and split the cash amongst the group. They make an average of $25,000.00 per job, each . It's not an ideal career path, but Morgana knows no other life. She grew up with a mastermind sister who taught her everything she knows about crime.

All she _knows_ is deception and crime.

Until she met _him_.

...

Merlin Emrys. A billionaire born in North Ireland and now residing in London, England. He owns several large companies, has several estates around the world, but really only occupies one estate located in the heart of London- Emrys Court: Worth $47,872,318.00 in U.S currency. The estate is 8,236 square feet, has 8 bedrooms, 7 bathrooms (each with a hot tub), 2 kitchens, an indoor gym, sauna, basketball court, lap pool, outdoor pool that runs around the entire backyard, direct lift access, and the security system of a bank.

Merlin Emrys himself has a net worth of $62 billion, placing him at number 1 on the list of richest people in England, and ranking 3rd in the entire world.

He's their largest challenge ever, and they still haven't gotten a clear clue as to how to get past his front door.

He's very careful on who he lets into his home, and so far, all of their disguised scope-out teams (plumbing, air conditioning, electricity, cable, air ventilation, roofing repairing, carpentry, housekeeping, day porters, security guards, etc.) have come back empty handed. They've tried several times, but still, no luck in getting into the estate. On top of having a state-of-the-art alarm and security system, the estate has a number of security guards crawling around the place. The owner of the estate is clearly paranoid.

...

"It's _not_ going to be easy."

Morgana's eyes dart up towards the reflection of her older sister entering her room. "What is?"

"This mission... it's going to take time, patience, and some bloody good acting." Morgause says matter-of-factly.

Morgana sighs heavily and leans forward, careful about her makeup. For tonight, she has to look absolutely flawless. This whole mission is depending on her. "I know."

"Do you?" Morgause asks skeptically.

Again, Morgana's eyes flicker up the mirror to meet her sisters stare. "Do you not trust me, sister?"

"Of course I trust you. It's _him_ I don't trust."

"And by _him_ , you mean the man we're trying to rob?"

"Yes. He's extremely smart and powerful."

"Aren't they all?" Morgana asks sarcastically with a roll of her eyes.

"None of our past clients are like this one."

"Clients?" Morgana asks mockingly.

Morgause shrugs, "Would you rather I call them victims?"

"I'd rather we not talk about them at all."

"Why? Are you affected by them or something?"

"They're not all bad people, you know?"

"I know. But they don't need all that money."

"Neither do we." Morgana says softly, looking down at her hands. They're clean, but underneath the cleanliness of the pale soft skin of her palms and fingers, are years of dirty work and experience in crime and deception.

Morgause's expression is that of surprise. "Are you- Morgana, don't tell me you suddenly feel bad about what we're doing." Her voice is sharp and stern, leaving no room for denial.

"No... but that doesn't mean I feel good about it either."

"But that's why we steal from people who don't need it." Morgause reasons.

At that, Morgana rolls her eyes, getting up from her seat in front of her mirror and turning to look at her older sister. "You say it like we're doing them a favor. We're not exactly like Robin Hood here, Morgause."

The older girl scoffs, rolling her eyes. "Where is this coming from? Just 3 weeks ago, you were completely okay with seducing some guy into telling you the passcode to his family's vault, and now you're suddenly Miss Goody-shoes? Please."

"Three weeks ago, my face wasn't plastered all over the news for breaking into someone's house!"

"It's happened before! It'll pass, and we'll move anyway."

"Well maybe I don't want to move, Morgause! Maybe I want a real life, and a real career, and a real family!"

Morgause's nose flares in disbelief at what she's hearing. "We _are_ your family!"

"Oh don't give me that bloody nonsense, Morgause. Just because we all work well together as criminals, doesn't make us a family! If any one of us gets caught, I'm pretty damned sure that we'll all throw each other under the bloody bus when it comes time to confess in exchange for immunity or lesser time in a cell!"

"Well that's why we're always careful! So we won't have to throw each other under the bus."

"Morgause, we can't keep doing this forever! One of these days, we _will_ get caught!"

Morgause's appalled expression is rather surprising considering the fact that she's hardly ever able to do anything with her face past frowning, smirking, and scoffing. "And what exactly do you plan on doing after this, sister?"

Morgana sighs heavily, shaking her head. "I just don't want to keep running. I want to settle down and live a normal life. I'm tired of moving every time we complete a mission."

"It hasn't bothered you before."

"It has!" Morgana snaps angrily, tears beginning to well up in her eyes. "It's been bothering me since the first time we did this, but I never said anything because I didn't know that you actually planned on doing this for the rest of your life!"

"My life?!" Morgause roars disbelievingly. "I did this for us!"

"No! You did this for yourself, Morgause!" Tears have now begun to flow freely down her pale cheeks, and she dabs quickly at them, not wanting to ruin her makeup. "Don't pretend like you we're doing me a favor by teaching me how to be a thief. I never, for one second, wanted this life. But I chose it because you're my sister and I loved you." Morgana turns slowly, collecting her purse and her apartment keys before walking towards the door. She stops, not bothering to look over her shoulder to where she knows her sister is still standing in shock at her revelation. "After this mission, I'm out." With that, Morgana shoulders her purse and leaves.

...

"What took you so long?" Gwen, Morgana's best friend asks curiously as Morgana hops into the passenger seat of her car.

Morgana sighs heavily and shakes her head. "Morgause and I had a disagreement."

"On what?"

Had it been anyone else, she would've yelled at them to mind their own business. But Gwen is more like a sister to her than Morgause ever was. Yes, they're all criminals, but Gwen at least shared the same interests as her. "Morgause didn't take my 'rebellion' well."

" _Our_ rebellion." Gwen corrects, albeit sympathetically. She finally pulls out of the parking lot and begins their drive towards the auction a few blocks away from Morgana and Morgause's apartment. "We're in this together, Morgana." Gwen continues softly, glancing over at her best friend and smiling softly. "If you go, I'm going too."

Morgana nods thankfully. "I know. I probably would've never had the courage to tell Morgause that I want out, if it weren't for you."

"Oh, flattery will get you nowhere, Morgana." Gwen laughs.

Morgana joins in, shaking her head as she takes a deep breath. Wanting to change the subject, she asks, "So what do we know for sure about this Merlin guy?"

Gwen snorts as she turns the car down a winding path. "Not much. We just know that he's highly intelligent, rich as bloody hell, and owns an estate we can't even _look_ at without a security clearance. And no one bloody knows what he looks like, so that's another challenge."

Morgana groans as she massages her temples. They've never gone so blindly into a meeting with their 'victim'. "He's probably some huge, old, bald man with a mustache and a cane... I'm sick of those dirty old bastards." She shudders involuntarily as she remembers her last old victim. The guy definitely deserved to be robbed of his money. He was the epitome of the words, dirty, old geezer. He not only kept trying to put his hand up her skirt, he also had the audacity to call a prostitute to his house and asked her to have sex with said prostitute while he watches. Things ended badly when Morgana basically knocked him out, kicked out the prostitute, and then called the squad in to just take everything they wanted from the guys place.

"Well lets just hope this Merlin guy doesn't smell. My last victim smelled like moldy cheese." Gwen cringes and Morgana laughs as they finally pull up in the parking lot of the auditorium where the Paintings auction would take place.

"Shall we?" Morgana asks in mock cheerfulness as she checks her makeup one last time on the car rear view mirror.

"We shall." Gwen replies, hopping out the car and pulling down her light blue, knee length, v-neck dress.

...

A/N: Next up, well... you'll have to wait for this update to find out. I'll try to update regularly. Thanks for reading and please review!

-McDiggin'It


	2. Chapter 2

Title: The Thief

A/N: 

...

Chapter Two:

...

When they enter the room where the auction would be held, the officials have already started the biddings. Bids are being called out over a small crowd of people in formal attire as bid paddles are being waved in the air.

"Looks like we're just on time." Gwen whispers softly to Morgana.

A security guard stops them, asking for their names as he holds up a clipboard with a list of names on it.

"Odette Marguerite Sinclair." Gwen says in a fluent French accent.

Morgana bites the inside of her cheek, trying not to laugh at the name Gwen chose for Lancelot (their tech guy) to put on the list.

The security guard checks his list, nods a moment later, making a slight bow towards Gwen before pulling the red rope out of her way and gesturing for her to continue.

He turns back, looking at Morgana with a blank expression. "And your name, Madame?"

"Katerina Alessandra O'Connor".

The security takes a few moments, scanning his list before nodding. "Welcome, Miss O'Connor." He pulls the rope away, bowing as Morgana walks past him to join Gwen on the other side.

"Looks like a snooze fest." Morgana whispers to Gwen, who nods immediately.

"It's all old people."

Biting the groan that she wants so desperately to let out, Morgana pulls her friend towards the crowd. "Lets get to work."

A painting is placed at the front of the room, and one of the only young men in the room goes to the podium and smiles at the crowd. "The next item up for auction, is a rare 16th century, Antwerp painting, by Sir Peter Paul Rubens of Siegen. This masterpiece is called, "The Massacre Of The Innocents"... it is the subject of two paintings by Sir Peter Paul Rubens, this one being the first, depicting the episode of the biblical massacre of the innocents of Bethlehem as related in the gospel of Matthew. This particular painting was believed to be lost when it was mistakenly catalogued as a Franciscus de Neve II, in 1767 and wasn't discovered until George Gordon of Sotheby's noticed the similarities between this one and another painting also made by Sir Ruben..." The history of the painting continues for a while, but the 2 girls have already stopped listening.

Morgana rolls her eyes and glances at Gwen, "We could've gone on with our lives without knowing all of that."

"Looks like we're not the only ones who find this absolutely boring." Gwen replies, nodding her head a little at the far left corner of the back row in the crowd.

Morgana turns, seeing a young blonde man, looking at his phone instead of at the front where the auction is taking place. "He looks like he needs some company, and I," she pauses, smiling at her friend. "Could use a drink." With a wink, Morgana turns, heading towards the open bar on the other side of the room and leaving Gwen to figure out that she's just been left there to approach the blonde man.

Gwen huffs softly and turns to look at the blonde man. From where she's standing, she can see he's extremely handsome, which she's thankful for. Handsome rich men usually smell good. With a deep breath, she walks towards the man, and takes a seat beside him. She bites back the urge to smile when he immediately turns to look at her, and if she's not mistaken, checks her out.

...

Morgana orders a Dirty Martini and waits patiently for her order. Twirling around in her stool, she watches the auction bids continue for "The Massacre Of The Innocents" painting with interest. According to Morgause, this was the painting that their target would be bidding for. So far, she sees only rich old men bidding for it, and she makes a mental note of all of them.

"I have £46.5 million. Is there another bid?" The announcer asks, there's a long silent pause as Morgana's eyes narrow at the old man who'd just made the last bid. "Going once, going twice..."

Morgana takes her purse and slips it over her shoulder. That must be _him_ if no one else is going to-

"Forty-Nine million." A voice stops her. The unmistakable Irish accent, and the low, calm baritones of a powerful man. The way the words 'Forty-nine million' rolled off his tongue, raised the flag that Morgana was looking for... except, she doesn't know which one had uttered those words.

The announcer squints over the crowd, apparently having the same dilemma Morgana is having. "Who was that?"

"Merlin Emrys of North Ireland..." a tall, thin man stands up in the middle of the crowd and looks directly at the announcer. "and I bid forty-nine million on that painting." Murmurs and whispers echo throughout the room after that as Morgana's eyes narrow towards her target. Interesting.

A look of recognition crosses over the announcers features upon seeing the bidder, and he swallows hard, looking around. "Do I hear a counter bid?" The announcer calls, waiting but a second before continuing. "Going once, going twice, sold!" He slams the little hammer in his hand on to the podium as declaration of the official closing bid on the painting.

Morgana quirks an eyebrow at the announcers obvious discomfort. It seems, if she's not mistaken, that Merlin Emrys is very well known around here. She studies him for a moment, thoroughly surprised.

He was definitely _not_ what she expected. He was a lot younger than she expected as well. On top of that, he's actually good looking unlike her previous targets. And the accent is a double bonus. Smiling to herself, she shrugs on her purse again, downs the rest of her drink, and walks towards the crowd, swaying her hips daintily.

She thinks she's going to have fun with this guy. After all, young men tend to be a lot less observant and more immature than older men.

She sees Gwen make a beeline for her, giving her _the look_. Morgana nods back in affirmation that she's heard the name of their target and they both move closer to him.

"You ready?" Gwen whispers.

Morgana looks at their target and nods. He's currently occupied, whispering to a guard who nods and rushes away towards a backroom. Merlin himself, turns and goes straight to the bar.

"Was the blonde guy any useful?" Morgana asks curiously, trying not to look suspicious while whispering to her friend.

Gwen snorts, "I can't really say. It's not like I came out straight and asked him for any info he might be able to offer on Mr. Emrys." Gwen rolls her eyes and then glances back at the blonde man. "But I do believe he just asked me out on a date on Friday night, so yes. He's been most helpful."

Morgana laughs softly, shaking her head. "Of course he did... okay, I'm going in."

"Be careful." Gwen whispers before turning away to look for someone to make small talk with.

Morgana turns towards the bar again, smiling when she sees that her target is currently sitting in the chair beside the one she had recently left. Formulating a conversation in her head, she raises a hand, pulling out the single clip that was keeping her hair up. Shaking out her curls, she stores the small clip away in her purse as she approaches the bar and slides into the seat beside her target.

The bartender approaches the counter holding a glass of what Morgana assumes is Scotch and places it in front of the man beside her. Then the bartender looks over at her, asking "Another dirty martini, madame?"

"Oui." Morgana smiles innocently.

From her peripherals, she can see her target taking a sip of his drink as he stares at his phone, not paying a single mind to her. It both surprises and annoys her. She thought for sure he would notice her the moment she sat down beside him, but it seems, he has something more important to look at on his phone.

She turns her head in his direction a little, hoping he'd notice her movement. He doesn't. Instead, he puts hit phone up to his ear and turns away from her. This further irritates her and she resists the urge to slap him in the back of the head. She listens carefully to him as he begins speaking.

"I got the painting."- "Yes."- "I'll be there in about an hour or so."- "Okay, be ready to move when we land."- "Good." Morgana looks at her fingernails as he turns back, and he thankfully puts his cellphone away in his jacket.

The bartender comes back with her drink, placing it in front of her before turning away and heading back to wiping down his counter. Taking a sip of her drink, she leans forward, mindful of her breasts on the verge of popping out of her dress. Again, her target doesn't notice and continues sipping his drink in silence as he stares ahead.

Seriously, what the bloody hell is wrong with this guy? It quickly becomes clear to her that he's not going to make the first move, so she does, not keen on wasting more time just sitting there. "Quite the bid you made back there." She begins, her voice calm, and her tone casual.

He finally turns his head, looking at her for a long moment. "It's a very valuable painting."

"So I've heard." She smiles, looking at him. She realizes that this would be the first time she's actually really looked at him, and she's pleasantly surprised to find boyish features on a man's face, striking blue eyes, pointed nose, full lips, strong jawline, and cheekbones that could cut through a block of butter. He was absolutely beautiful. "Still," she continues after snapping out of her thoughts. "You bid a two and a half million difference."

He nods, taking another sip of his drink. "Uther Pendragon." He utters a moment later.

"Pardon?" 

"Uther Pendragon. He's the one who bought the painting. And his price, was £49 million. No more, no less. I'm just making the bid since he's not here."

Morgana tries not to look so surprised at the fact that these people really do have more money than they need. This Uther guy basically threw away two and a half million dollars! "I see." She really doesn't see a bloody thing, but she has to act like she does. "And this Uther Pendragon is your boss or something?"

He shrugs, "Or something." He turns again in his chair and points across the room.

Morgana is forced to turn as well, looking where he's pointing.

"See the blonde man over there?"

Morgana instantly sees the blonde man Gwen was talking to earlier and nods.

"That's Uther's son, and my partner and best friend."

Morgana's eyebrows practically shoot up her forehead as she turns her head to look at the man beside her. "Your _partner_?" She emphasizes heavily on 'partner', which earns her an eye roll from the man beside her.

"Business partner, Miss.." he looks expectantly at her for her name.

She doesn't know why, but she feels utter relief flood her system at the assurance that this man isn't " _partners_ " with another man. Not that she has anything against gay couples. It's just kind of hard to get invited into the home of someone who is attracted to the same sex. "M- _Miss_ O'Connor." She grits her teeth in disbelief about the fact that she had almost given up her real name, and forces out a realistic smile.

He nods, smiling back as he holds out a hand. "Merlin Emrys." She offers her hand, which he takes, and she has to ignore the way her skin explodes with gooseflesh as he turns her hand and kisses the top of it. "It's a pleasure to make your acquaintance, Miss O'Connor". His blue eyes blink slowly, and Morgana resists the urge to squirm; its like he could see right _through_ her.

He finally lets go of her hand and sits up straight. They both turn their seats back towards the bar and sit in an oddly comfortable silence.

"I don't think I've seen you here before." Merlin says, giving her a curious look.

Without missing a beat, she answers with a sweet, innocent smile. "That's because I've just moved here."

"Oh?" His interest is evident then, and Morgana smiles even wider.

"Two years in New York." She confirms, for once, not lying. She had actually spent 2 years there when Morgause decided for the both of them that they should move to the U.S when their team had almost been caught in one of their heists.

"If you don't mind me asking," Merlin says slowly. "What is someone like you doing in an auction for antiques?"

"Someone like me?"

"Young, and beautiful."

Morgana almost rejoices because _is he finally flirting?_ "I could ask you the same thing." She flirts back.

He chuckles then, his radiant blue eyes sparkling with interest. "I've always had a love of antiques and such. Arthur is much the same, although, he does enjoy the interests of this generation as well."

"Arthur?" Morgana asks confusedly.

"That would be the blonde friend of mine I showed you."

"Right... Your partner." She smiles teasingly, to which he rolls his eyes again. They fall into yet another few moments of silence before Morgana decides to break it, feeling like she needed to justify her reason for being there.

"I've always had an eye for the arts."

"Really?" He sounds skeptical, which she doesn't blame him for. After all, she's kind of fibbing. Yes, she has an eye for the arts, but more for the 18th century and after, like Van Gogh, Picasso, Monet, Degas, and such. Anything before that, she's never actually looked in to.

"I took up a few art classes at Newcastle before moving to the U.S... my parents wanted a change of scenery and wanted me to go with them. I only agreed because my father insisted." The part about Newcastle was true, but the moving with her parents bit is a lie. Her parents died in a car crash when she was just 6 years old and Morgause was 14.

"You're an only child?"

Morgana looks at him, wondering if she should tell him. Ultimately, she decides to lie. It's not like she's going to be seeing him after she gets what she needs from him. "Yes."

"And where are your parents now?"

She shrugs, "Still in New York." Lying is second nature to her now, but she can't help the unease she feels at lying to Merlin. It's like she's lying to a friend and not a stranger. Maybe it's just that he's actually holding a conversation with her and not trying to grope her like her previous targets did.

"So what are you doing now?"

She shrugs again, wondering when he's going to ask her to go home with him. Usually, the target would've asked her right after she's told them her false name. But this one seems genuinely interested in her life and not her cleavage. "I'm looking for a place to setup an art studio."

"Really?" 

"Yes." She nods. That wasn't totally a lie. She _does_ want to open up an art studio, but obviously, her "job" won't allow her such luxury. She would probably have to move again after this heist, but like she's told Morgause, after this job, she's done with that life. All of it. She wants to settle down and start a new life. A new story. She smiles a little at the thought of finally being free of all this. "It's been my dream for a while now." She says out loud.

He nods, staring curiously at her. And just as he's about to say something, his phone begins blaring Led Zeppelin's "Stairway to Heaven". (Oh the irony!) "Sorry, I have to take this." He gets up, pushing the call button on his phone and pressing the device to his ear as he walks away.

Morgana is left sitting there, stunned by the fact that this man actually just left a beautiful woman for a bloody phone call. Sighing heavily, she downs the rest of her drink, pulls her own phone from her purse and dialing Morgause's number.

"Fail." She says as soon as Morgause picks up.

There's a growl of frustration followed by a sigh, "How?"

"He just walked off."

"And you let him?!"

"What was I supposed to do? Force him to take me home with him?!" Morgana whispers furiously.

Morgause pauses, taking a deep breath to calm herself down. "You've never failed before. What happened?"

"Nothing. He just wasn't like our other targets."

"How so?"

"I don't know... there's something different about him. He didn't even try to touch me, and he never once looked at my chest. His eyes were trained directly on my face. Like he knew what I was trying to do... almost as if he knew-" She nearly jumps out of her skin when she hears someone, _him_ , speak from behind her.

"As if who knew what?"

Whirling around, Morgana plasters a smile on her face. "Errr, give me one second." She tells him, holding up a finger and speaking politely into her phone. "Mother, I'll have to call you back. Send my love to father." Ignoring Morgause's confused protests, she ends the call and puts her phone back inside her purse. "Sorry about that." She laughs humorlessly.

Merlin gives her a lopsided grin that makes her stomach flip. "S'no problem... I actually wanted to apologize for running off like that. Business was calling."

"Oh, that's fine. I understand."

He nods, slipping his hands into the pockets of his pants. "I actually came back for another reason as well."

Morgana's heart races in anticipation and she raises a perfectly plucked eyebrow at him. "Oh? And what might that be?" For the first time she sees him look shyly at her, his cheeks turning a cute pink.

"I was wondering if you'd be interested in having dinner with me in two weeks."

This was a first. Not the getting invited to have dinner with someone, but the 2 weeks wait. "Two weeks?"

He grins, nodding at her. "Ah, I have a few conferences with some business associates in Italy for two weeks, and I'm flying out there tonight."

Oh, well that changes things. His home would be unoccupied, except, she's sure he'll have security guards posted everywhere, watching his home. Also, that would mean his security system would be raised. She sees no way to get into his home without getting caught. She needs the password to his security system, his vault, probably a password to his bloody bathroom. Improvising quickly in her head, she slips out of her seat, her hand going to gently grasp at his Armani-clad arm as she gives him a perfected seductive look. He swallows hard and looks at her hand.

She resists the urge to grin triumphantly. So he's not entirely unaffected by her. "It's a shame." She says with practiced disappointment in her tone.

"A shame?" He asks curiously.

Morgana nods, her lips turning into a fake frown. She has him exactly where she needs him. "Two weeks is a long time... I might not even be here when you get back." She pouts a little, just enough to make it believable. "I received an offer for a studio in Edinburgh. I mean I love London, but if there's nothing here for me, I can't really stay. The offer from Edinburgh is pretty good."

Merlin's eyes flash with a hint of panic and Morgana almost smiles. She holds it for another long minute, knowing it's not time to celebrate just yet. "I'm sure there are much better places here. Plus I have some really great contacts. I could get it to you when I get back."

"Oh, but what am I supposed to do for two weeks then?"

Another flash is evident in Merlin's eyes, this one, a flash of realization and excitement. "You could come with me."

Bingo. Morgana feigns confusion and blinks at him. "Where?"

"To Italy... I mean, that is, if you want to." He shrugs, looking down at his shoes for a brief moment before glancing back up at her through his long, dark lashes.

She thinks he looks absolutely angelic in that moment, and her insides clench in regret about what she's doing. "What about your conferences?" She asks curiously.

He shrugs, "I'll still go. I'm only staying for two weeks because the conferences are spaced out over the span of 2 weeks. And they're about 2 to 3 hours long."

Morgana nods slowly, biting her lip and pretending to think. "Will I get to spend time with you?" She asks innocently, although her eyes and the tiny smile playing on her lips say otherwise.

Merlin's smile is wide and adorable as he nods. "Of course... I'll only have 3 conferences for 2 to 3 hours at a time... the rest of the time there, I'm all yours."

She doesn't know why, but the sound of that sends a shiver of excitement and delight through her. "Then I would love to come with you."

Honestly, she thinks this will be the first time she actually _wants_ to go with a target somewhere. Or anywhere for that matter. Smiling widely, she takes his arm as he offers it to her. "We'll just pick Arthur up from where he's currently dying of boredom and we'll go."

Morgana's eyes widen in realization. She had totally forgotten about Gwen.

...

A/N: So whadaya think? Let me know? Thank you for reading and please leave a review!

-McDiggin'It


	3. Chapter 3

Title: The Thief

...

Chapter Three:

...

She sees Arthur walking up to her and Merlin, a curious look on his face as he glances at her.

Morgana stops abruptly, causing Merlin to stop too and look curiously at her. "Is something wrong?"

"No, but I'd really like to use the ladies room before we leave."

"Right." Merlin nods, gesturing for her to go. "Of course."

Morgana walks quickly, her hand already blindly searching through her purse for her phone. As soon as she gets inside the ladies restroom, she checks the stalls to make sure it's empty, and then dials Gwen's number.

"Why are you calling me and where are you?"

"I'm in the restroom. Come now." She says hurriedly. The call ends and Morgana waits silently for her friend.

The doors soon swing open, revealing Gwen with a curious expression on her face. "What happened? Did he flake?"

"No," Morgana shakes her head. "He- he just invited me to join him in Italy for two weeks."

At that, Gwen laughs, then she sees the serious expression on Morgana's face. "You're going with him." It wasn't a question. Gwen could read her expression. "Why? That isn't part of the job."

"Gwen, I just want to get this over with. If I wait for him to come back from Italy, we'll just waste 2 whole weeks doing nothing. This guys estate is nothing like the estates we've broken into before, so the only way I can get him to let me inside his estate, is if he trusts me."

"So you're going to get him to sort of fall in love with you or something?"

"Not necessarily. I just need him to like me enough to let me into his home."

Gwen looks worriedly at her friend. "What if you end up liking this guy?"

Morgana shakes her head, a look of solid determination on her face. "I won't. That's not part of the job."

Gwen snorts, rolling her eyes, "Going with the target to Italy is not part of the job either, and yet, you're about to do exactly that."

"I assure you, Gwen. I won't fall for him."

Gwen has a skeptical look on her face at that, but nods. "Okay... well when are you leaving?"

Morgana bites her lip, her eyes avoiding Gwen's and looking to the ceiling. She mumbles incoherently, to which Gwen moves closer.

"What was that?"

"Tonight." She sighs heavily.

Gwen's eyes widen into saucers, her hand flying to cover the gasp that nearly escapes her mouth. "Tonight?!" She asks exasperatedly. "Morgana, you don't even know him! For all we know, the reason we know next to nothing about him is because he's probably a serial killer!"

Morgana rolls her eyes at her friend as she begins to walk to the door. "Don't be ridiculous, Gwen. He's an extremely rich and powerful man. The worst he could be is an arsehole."

"But he's so young! Don't tell me you're not the least bit skeptical about how he got to be so rich and powerful!"

Morgana shrugs, "Inheritance."

"Then how come his father wasn't well known? And on top of that, from what Morgause told me, this Merlin guy has been number one on that list of rich people in Great Britain for about 10 years! And he doesn't look a day over 25, so tell me exactly how old he was when he became so rich and powerful?"

Morgana huffs, almost annoyed with her friend. "I don't know, Gwen. But whatever it is, it doesn't make him a serial killer. I'll be finding out his story on this two week trip." She gives Gwen a hopeful look. "I'm sure of it."

Gwen doesn't like this new plan at all, but she nods anyway. "Fine... but please be careful."

"I will." Morgana smiles, rushing to her friend and hugging her before leaving. She finds Merlin at the door, smiling at her.

"You okay?" He asks softly.

Morgana nods, "Yes, thank you for waiting."

"Of course... Arthur is meeting us at the jet, so I'll introduce you to him once we get there."

...

Morgana realizes just how important Merlin is on their way to his limo. His phone wouldn't stop blowing up, most of his calls he ignores except one from the Prime Minister himself. Merlin had spoken to him as if he were speaking to someone unimportant, and then ended the call abruptly and turned his cell phone off.

"You might want to turn your cell phone off soon." Merlin says, pointing towards the airport.

Morgana nods, pulling her cell phone out. She sees that she has 3 text messages from Morgause and immediately closes them. She'll have to read those later because at this moment, Merlin is sitting far too close to her for it to be safe to read.

When they pull up at the entrance to the gate, Morgana realizes that she doesn't have anything to change into once they get to Italy. She groans, face palming herself.

"What's wrong?" Merlin asks curiously.

"I don't have anything to wear once we get to Italy."

Merlin grins at her, shaking his head. "Don't worry. I've got that covered."

Morgana quirks an eyebrow at him. "Do you?"

"Yes." He chuckles. "I'll show you when we get there."

She nods, staying quiet as the limo continues past the gate and straight into a private zone. She sees several large private jets waiting in the area and she raises her eyebrows at each one, sporting the name Ambrosius.

The limo pulls to a stop in front of one of the larger jets, and 2 dark suited men hurry to either side to open their doors for them. Morgana tries to contain her amazement as she stares up at the jet looming above her.

"Shall we?" Merlin asks from her left, sticking out his right arm for her to take.

She nods, smiling at him as she slips her left hand into the crook of his arm and they climb up the stairs leading into the jet.

The outside of the jet is nothing compared to the interior. It looked like the inside of a 5-star hotel suite, luxurious blood red velvet upholstery, thick sumptuous black carpets, with a few gold touches here and there. And this is just the corridor leading to what Morgana assumes will be the main room.

An elderly man in a dark suit smiles widely at them as he pushes the door to the room open, gesturing for them to go through. "Good evening, Mr. Emrys."

"Good evening, Edwin. Everything alright tonight?"

"Everything is well, sir."

Merlin smiles, nodding at him. "That's good. And I've told you to call me Merlin, Edwin."

"Yes, sir."

Morgana smiles as she observes the interactions between Merlin and the man. Merlin chuckles as he gestures at her. "Edwin, this is the beautiful Miss O'Connor." He then looks at her and smiles. "Miss O'Connor, this is Edwin. He's been a friend of mine for quite some time."

Edwin smiles fondly at Merlin before turning to smile at Morgana. "It is a pleasure to meet you, Miss O'Connor.", Edwin says with a slight bow towards her.

Morgana smiles widely at him, nodding her head towards him. "It's a pleasure to meet you as well, Mr. Edwin."

They continue into the main room, and Morgana grits her teeth to keep from gasping. The colors are much the same as the ones in the corridor, but the room is fully furnished with luxurious red plush sofas, cozy-looking black arm chairs, footrests that probably costs more than her and Morgause's shared apartment, and a costly looking bar in the corner. At the bar, Arthur stands, sipping a drink as he looks at something on his phone.

"Arthur." Merlin says as they approach him. The blonde man looks up, smiling at them.

"Finally. My father won't stop asking for the bloody painting."

Merlin rolls his eyes and looks over his shoulder towards the door. "Tell him not to worry. Gwaine is on his way right now..." he then turns, introducing Morgana to Arthur as 'Miss O'Connor' again.

Arthur smiles at her, squinting his eyes at her. "Weren't you with Odette earlier?"

Morgana's eyebrows furrow at him in confusion. "Who?"

"Odette. I'm pretty sure I saw you speaking to her at the auction hall."

Morgana inwardly groans, having forgotten the pseudonym Gwen chose to get into the auction hall. "Oh! Yes, I just met her tonight. Charming girl." She smiles widely, hoping he'll buy it.

Arthur gives her one last skeptical look before nodding. "Yes, she's definitely a catch."

"Catch?" Merlin asks teasingly. "You've already made a move on her?"

Arthur shrugs, "We're having dinner on Friday when I get back from Italy."

"You're not staying in Italy?" Morgana asks curiously.

Arthur and Merlin exchange looks before snickering at each other.

"What's funny?" Morgana frowns, not liking being left in the dark. Oh, some more irony!

Merlin grins toothily at her, "Arthur hates it there."

Morgana looks at Arthur with a confused expression on her face. "Why?"

Arthur shrugs, "My father lives there."

"So? I mean... it's a huge place. It's not like you'll run into him-"

"Let me tell you the only thing you need to know about my father." Arthur says dismissively. "He's a lying sociopath who cares not about anything or anyone, including his beloved only son." He turns his head, raising his glass to his lips and swallowing a few mouthfuls.

Morgana notes the strong waves of daddy issues coming from the man as Merlin chuckles, shaking his head. "The only reason Arthur is coming to Italy, is to show face. His father intends to leave everything in his possession to Arthur once e passes, but not if Arthur doesn't act right."

"So you're pretending to care?" Morgana questions.

Arthur grins at her. "Precisely." He then looks at Merlin and wiggles his eyebrows. "I like this one." He gestures towards Morgana. She's smarter than all the other brainless bimbo's you've invited into your jet."

Merlin chuckles at that, rolling his eyes at his friend. He turns to Morgana, smiling softly at her. "Would you like a grand tour of the jet?"

Morgana nods, smiling back at him. He really is very handsome. It's a shame she'll have to steal from him later.

Merlin gives her a tour around the jet, further drowning her in the pools of awe and amazement, before taking her back to the main room.

"Back so soon?" Arthur asks lightly, a devious grin on his face. "I thought you would at least spend an hour or so inside that luxurious bedroom in the back."

Merlin chuckles, "Bugger off, prat."

Arthur raises his hands in surrender. "I'm just saying. This is the first time you've ever given someone a grand tour of your jet... of anything really."

Morgana silently watches the two men bicker back and forth, realizing the closeness between the two. Like they're brothers. A sinking feeling in her stomach, weakens her knees and she leans over a chair.

Merlin notices and gently lays a hand on her lower back. "You okay?"

She nods. "Yes, just a little dizzy."

Merlin nods, "You should probably lay down then before we take off." He checks his watch, "We're leaving in about 15 minutes."

As Morgana lays in the comfortable bed in the back room, she can't help but feel like she's doing everything wrong. She's had doubts in her previous missions, but this... this just felt so wrong.

...

A/N: Sorry for the late update. I've been working on different fics at once on top of work, thanksgiving preparations, and early Christmas shopping. It's been hectic, but I haven't forgotten. Also, I know this chapter seems a little slow and plotless, but I promise it'll get better. Also, thank you to those who reviewed the previous chapters. I love you all! Next stop, ITALY!

-McDiggin'It


	4. Chapter 4

Title: The Thief

A/N: Sorry for the late update. If you haven't noticed, I'm writing like 4 different fics, and I'm working on each one little by little. So please bear with me. Anyway, thanks for reading and leave a review if you wish! Hope this chapter is okay.

...

Chapter Four:

...

The ride to Italy was surprisingly pleasant. But then again, she had never flown anywhere in a luxurious private jet. The moment they landed, they were able to walk right out and into a Limo that would take them to their hotel. Thank goodness they didn't have to go through customs. And they didn't go to just any hotel. It was a 6-star deluxe hotel, owned by Merlin himself; The Grand Hotel Ambrosias, perched on a hillside overlooking the ocean. It is an absolutely breathtaking view.

The exterior looks Victorian with peaceful olive groves, much like its surrounding areas. Behind the hotel, is four acres of romantic tropical gardens with superb palm trees, a heated salt-water pool, a tennis court, and an outdoor bar and grill.

The lobby is bathed in gold with Classical fittings and marble statues lining the entrance. There were vast guest rooms, foyers, fine in-house restaurants.

They were of course, escorted to the Presidential Suite, which Morgana assumes is Merlin's personal choice every time he comes here. Arthur takes his leave of them, explaining that he will be going to see his father and will probably spend the rest of the night there.

And now, Morgana realizes nervously, she is truly alone with Merlin. _God, she was never this nervous before._

"Would you like a drink?" Merlin asks quietly as he shrugs out of his suit.

Morgana can only nod, her mouth suddenly going dry as Merlin sets his jacket on top of a couch before rolling up his sleeves, loosening his tie, and unbuttoning 3 of the buttons on his shirt. He moves swiftly and smoothly, making it seem like he's practically floating on air. He goes to the minibar, taking 2 glasses and dropping 3 small cubes of ice in each. And then he smiles at her as he begins mixing drinks and liquids.

Morgana uses the time to explore the living area a little, her eyes darting around. She takes note of where Merlin left the only luggage he brought with him. She guesses that there would be valuable information in there and would have to find a way to get to it. He's not likely to leave it there with her when he goes to his conferences, so she would probably have to snoop around his things when he's there. She chucks it down to 3 scenarios. When he's sleeping which will be a little tricky since rich and powerful men tend to be very light sleepers (probably a side effect of the paranoia that comes from the fear of being robbed), so that would have to fall in the "maybe" category. When he's not actually in the room, which probably won't ever happen, and if it does, he'll probably take all his important documents and information with him. And finally, when he's in the shower. The thought makes her nervous, just thinking about him and shower. Naked, water running down his body. She momentarily wonders what he looks like beneath that super expensive tailored suit. Closing her eyes tightly, she wills the thoughts away. It doesn't work, but it's worth a try.

"Your drink, Miss O'Connor."

Morgana turns, plastering a smile on her face as she takes the glass from his outstretched hand. "Thank you, Merlin… and you can call me Alessandra."

He smiles at her, his eyes sparkling as he lifts his glass to his lips and takes a sip of his drink. "Alessandra. It's a beautiful name."

"It means 'defender of men'." she chuckles before taking a sip of her own drink. She actually learned that from a previous heist. The rich man she had tricked into inviting her inside his home kept going on about his late wife Alessandra, and he had let slip the meaning of her name.

Merlin chuckles. "So… Alessandra. Are you a defender of men?"

She gives him a playful look. "I can barely defend myself. You expect me to defend others too?" That's another lie. She had enrolled herself in self defense and tae kwon do classes as soon as she grew old enough to learn that boys are pigs.

Merlin doesn't reply as he downs the contents of his drink before taking a step forward and taking her drink from her hands. He sets both glasses down on the glass center table and then turns back to her, taking a step towards her as a small smile plays on his lips. "I don't peg you as a woman who would sit around and let someone pick on you."

Her breath quickens. He's close enough that she just has to raise her arm and touch him or lay her hand against his chest. "No?" she asks curiously. "And what kind of woman did you have me pegged as?" she genuinely wants to know his answer to that question.

He takes another step, bringing him directly in front of her, and his hands come to rest on her sides. She's surprised to find that she doesn't have to fake her pleasure in his touch. His voice is barely above a whisper when he finally speaks, his lips hovering just above her own. "I think you're a fighter… and I think there's way more to you than meets the eye."

Morgana's heart beats rapidly, a mixture of arousal and fear seeping into her veins. An intoxicating combination. He's probably talking about her greater qualities, but she can't help but think that he suspects her already. There's no telling what he's thinking. So she does the first thing that pops to mind. She leans up on her toes and kisses him, gently at first, but then her arms wrap around his neck, pulling him closer. He kisses her back with much fervor, their tongues meeting at the seams of their lips, mingling, tangling, massaging, and tasting. He tastes of liquor and some sweet and tangy flavor she can't quite put a finger on, but she finds that she doesn't mind it. In fact, she really likes his taste.

She groans as his hands move from her hips to the very top of her derriere, his fingers gently digging into her faux Monique Lhuillier clad skin. Their kiss becomes heated in a matter of seconds, and just as her hands begin to descend down the sides of his neck and over the buttons of his shirt, Merlin pulls away and looks at her with wide eyes.

His look is confusing. He looked… worried? He clears his throat and takes a step back before giving her a curious look. "Would you like to see your wardrobe?"

Morgana is a little disappointed at the turn of events, but she nods anyway, offering a smile. "Yes… Although, I wonder… why is there a woman's wardrobe in here?"

Merlin chuckles and shakes his head as he turns, leading the way towards the doors on the far side of the room. "Let's just say, that I can make things happen."

She's not sure what to make of that, but she nods anyway as she follows him.

…

There was nothing in the closet that wasn't a designer dress or such, and Morgana finds herself wondering what she's supposed to wear to bed. She bites her lip as she looks around the large walk-in closet. Designer dresses, designer shoes, expensive jewelry, and accessories. The contents are pretty much worth thousands and thousands of money. More than she's ever helped steal in her life.

She jumps a little when Merlin's voice cuts through the silence. "Find everything okay?"

She blushes, nodding at him as he leans against the doorframe of the closet. His dark shirt is rolled up at the sleeves, 3 buttons open, and he's grinning at her in a very suggestive way as he folds his arms across his chest. "Errr, yes... I just," she gestures around the closet and laughs a little. "I thought you said you had everything."

He smirks, quirking an eyebrow at her. "Is there something missing?"

Morgana quirks her own eyebrows at him. "You don't expect me to sleep in a $3,000.00 dress, do you?"

"Ah." Merlin chuckles as he walks further into the closet and claps his hands twice. Suddenly, the entire right side of the closet opens up as the designer dresses flip over, replaced immediately by a vast shelf with an array of multicolored undergarments, racy and flimsy brassiere's and knickers, swimsuits and bikinis, and lacy, transparent lingerie. Her mouth is basically open as she further inspects the contents.

"Told you so." Merlin chuckles. He steps back and lets her pick out one of the more modest lingerie's. He shakes his head at her and chuckles, stepping up behind her so his front is nearly pressing into her back. His arms come around her waist, circling her front for a millisecond before moving towards one of the more revealing lingerie's he picks out a dark red one and holds it up in front of her. He then turns them both slowly, facing the tall mirror on the opposite wall. "If you're going to tempt me all night, you might as well go all the way." His voice vibrates through her body, and his breath ghosts over her skin as she takes the lingerie from his hands.

Again, his arms come to circle her waist, pulling her even closer as she continues to watch the both of them in the mirror. Her body trembles as he lowers his head, pressing his lips into her bare shoulder. His hands open, gliding over her abdomen as his lips move slowly to her neck, peppering her ivory skin with kisses.

In all her life, she doesn't think she's ever felt like this before. Like she's being consumed by him. Like every kiss he presses into her skin, is a brand being burned into her flesh, marking her as his.

She turns around, looking up at him through her lashes and giving him a shy look before pressing her lips into his. It's short and sweet, and everything it shouldn't be. "I'm going to change now." She mutters, hoping to get a few moments alone so she can compose herself. This is already proving to be difficult and they've only been here for a few hours.

He grins, nodding his head. "I'll be in the bedroom." With that, he walks off, leaving her to her privacy.

That's when reality hits her in the face.

 _Am I supposed to sleep in the same bed with him?_

She groans, already knowing the answer to that question. And the lingerie he picked out will probably ensure that they won't be sleeping anytime tonight.

...

A/N: I know it's a little short like the previous one, but I wanted to really get the story into the mood in this one. Next up, a little more romance and a pinch of smut perhaps? Who knows? Review and let me know what you think! Also, requests are welcome!

-McDiggin'It


	5. Chapter 5

Title: The Thief

A/N: This chapter will have a bit more intimate interactions between Morgana and Merlin, so I hope you all like this one. Review!

-McDiggin'It

...

Chapter Five:

...

After a quick shower, Morgana slips into the thin red lingerie that Merlin had picked out earlier. She bites her lip as she inspects her reflection. With quick work, she brushes out the tangles in her hair, rubs on some vanilla scented body lotion, and sprays on a bit of light perfume. She applies just a hint of red lipstick, reapplies her eyeliner before taking a deep breath and walking out of the bathroom.

She hears noises coming from the main bedroom and she follows it until she's standing at the door. Slowly, she pushes the door open, peeking inside. She sees the TV is on, but no signs of Merlin. Just as she enters, she sees a door in the corner swing open, and all logical thought flees her brain when she Merlin walks into the room, still completely wet from his shower with a plush white towel slung low around his hips.

Clearly, he works out, but not overly so that his muscles are bulging. He's not ripped, in fact, he's a little lean, but he still looks absolutely delicious and perfect, standing in the corner with his wet hair, and slight stubble on his chin dripping water that she suddenly wishes to collect with her tongue.

He notices her and smiles mischievously as he walks over to her. "I've never been with a woman who makes a simple lingerie look like a designer dress." His eyes glint with mirth as Morgana laughs. He's actually flirting with her. This could be interesting.

With a perfectly raised eyebrow, she lets him watch her as she checks him out. His pale skin glistens with water, and she watches a single droplet fall from his chin and onto his chest, through the sprinkling of dark hair, down his toned abdomen, and disappearing into his towel. She could make out the top of the "V" that forms at the bottom of a man's torso and ends where his manhood is. She licks her lips and looks back up to meet his blue eyes. "And I've never been with a man who makes a bath towel look so appealing." She says seductively.

He chuckles as he flexes his arms and runs a hand through his hair. He walks right up to her and leans in next to her face. His mouth comes to a stop beside her ear before he whispers huskily. "Tell me how appealing you find me."

Gooseflesh explodes over her skin, running up and down her spine as her desire for him flares wildly at his words. She's never felt this kind of desire to be with someone before. It's unfamiliar and terrifying... but at the same time, it feels so different, so real, so deep. She wants to be one with him right then and there. But that wasn't part of the plan... and right now, she's not even sure she knows what the plan is. She turns her head an inch, inhaling his fresh scent. Before she could think of something to do, Merlin moves, turning and pulling her against him before pressing his lips against hers.

She doesn't know how they got from the door to the bed, but she doesn't really care. Sensations that she's only ever read about in romantic fictions, spread across her body like wildfire as Merlin looms above her. His hands are everywhere as his lips and tongue trace small patterns over her neck and chest.

Morgana is lightheaded as Merlin continues pleasuring her with his talented hands and lips. Her muscles tighten as he descends down her body ever so slowly, teasing and torturing her in the most delicious way.

She shouldn't be doing this... but she's going to be here for 2 weeks, and being in the same room with him will eventually lead to this. She hadn't thought about what spending 2 weeks with a rich, handsome, and not to mention sexually talented man would entail, but this, hadn't really crossed her mind. It hasn't even been 24 hours, and here she is, spreadeagled on his bed, her body singing with pleasure as Merlin plays her like a finely tuned fiddle. She realizes with a jolt, just as Merlin's talented tongue swipes at her nether lips, that he has the upper hand now. That's a no-go.

With as much strength as she can muster in the weakened, sex-addled state she's in, she grips his arm and pulls him up so she can kiss him, and then she flips them over and straddles his hips, eyes gazing into his as she grins wickedly.

"What're you doing?"

She smirks as she grinds into him, pulling a delicious groan from his talented mouth. "You don't expect me to let you have all the fun, do you?"

...

It's horribly bright when she opens her eyes, blinking slowly as she looks around. It takes a few moments for her to gather her thoughts as she inspects her surroundings. Sitting up, she realizes she's still completely naked and she groans at the ache in her muscles, and the delicious soreness between her legs. Memories from the previous night assault her mind and she all but groans as she stretches her arms over her head and yawns.

This was NOT part of the plan. Sleeping with Merlin, and enjoying every moment of it, was NOT part of the plan. Waking up and not regretting last night, was NOT part of the plan... none of this is part of the plan. Morgana sighs as she slides out of bed, trying to remember where she left her purse. She needs to call Morgause or Gwen.

Just as she's about to get up, she hears the sound of a door closing and she slips back under the covers, laying back and pretending to be asleep.

Soft thuds of light footfalls could be heard, coming closer and closer to the bed until they stop directly beside her side of the bed. She listens intently as the sound of plastic gently thuds against wood, and then... warm, soft lips press gently into her cheek, then moves to her chin, pressing softly again, and then to her other cheek. She groans lightly, letting her eyelids flutter for a few seconds before opening her eyes and blinking slowly up at the handsome intruder. He really does look like a bloody god. A sex god. A sexy sex god. She smiles widely at him as she stretches again.

"Good morning, sunshine." He greets teasingly with a grin.

She giggles softly and sits up slowly, tucking the white sheet under her arms to cover herself. "Morning." She notices that he's only wearing his boxers, and her eyes greedily drink in the sight of his half naked body. He catches her staring, so she glances away at the bedside table and sees a large black tray filled with breakfast eggs, bacon, pancakes, English muffins, croissants, an apple, a few packets of condiments, 2 champagne flutes of what she thinks is either plain orange juice, or mimosas, and a small glass vase with a single Sunflower inside. "Did you make all of this?"

Merlin snorts, "God, no. I can't cook to save my life... I had Pablo make it."

"Pablo?"

"Personal chef."

"Right." She stares at the tray as he sets it between them and takes a seat by her feet.

"I thought you deserved breakfast in bed for that wonderful performance you put on last night." Merlin says cheekily, his eyes dancing with mirth.

Morgana blushes deeply and groans as she presses her palms over her face. She had lost control over herself last night, her body responding to Merlin's in a way she didn't think was possible. She remembers how she let her body do the thinking for her, roughly pushing Merlin onto his back and then riding him until they were both thrown into oblivion.

His hands wrap around hers, gently pulling them away. "If you're embarrassed, don't be. I don't think I've ever had such a strong connection to someone I've known in less than 24 hours." He chuckles, then grabs a glass flute from the tray he brought in and offers it to her. "Mimosa?"

She takes it, sipping lightly then groaning. "God, that is good."

"Only the best." Merlin smiles.

They share their little breakfast before Merlin puts the tray back on the bedside table and turns to grin at her. "Dessert?"

Morgana looks at him, seeing a mischievous look on his face as he begins to pull the sheets back. Honestly, who is she to deny the man his dessert?

...

Merlin has to leave in the afternoon for his first meeting, and Morgana pouts slightly as he puts his clothes back on.

"I'll be back in a few hours, and we'll have dinner tonight around 6:30."

Morgana nods as he kisses her. She hates to admit it, but... this is what she wants. _Craves_. A man she could spend everyday with. Someone who treats her like she's the most important person in his world. Someone she could settle down with. And it feels too real, too good to be true. And it _is_ too good to be true. When he leaves, she has to call Morgause.

"Be ready by six." Merlin smiles as he walks out the door.

She nods, waving at him. "Come back soon."

She finds her purse exactly where she left it last night on the arm chair and quickly finds her phone. She dials Morgause's number and waits. Almost immediately, her sisters voice booms through the receiver, and Morgana has to pull it away slightly.

"WHAT THE BLOODY HELL, MORGANA!"

Morgana winces, "I had to."

"Whose order was it to leave with him? And for two bloody weeks?! What were you _thinking_!?"

Morgana inhales harshly, "You're my sister, Morgause. _Not_ my boss. I don't take orders from anyone. And in case you haven't noticed, Merlin's home isn't just some regular mansion that we can easily get into. I did what I did so we could get his information properly."

"Merlin?!" Morgause yells incredulously. "Jesus Christ, you haven't even been with him for a whole day and you're already on a first name basis with him?"

Morgana bites her lip and swallows her anger. "It's his name. I'd much rather call him by his name than call him my victim!"

"He _IS_ your victim, Morgana. Nothing more, nothing less."

"I know."

There's silence as they both breathe heavily through the phone. "Don't forget what you're there for, sister." She hangs up after that, leaving Morgana alone with shaking hands.

"I won't."

...

A/N: Yes I know it's another short one, but I hope you like it anyway. Next up, a bit of a speedier pace because it's been flowing a bit slowly for the past couple of chapters. Hope you liked this! Review please!

-McDiggin'It


	6. Chapter 6

Title: The Thief

A/N: I'm sorry about the late update, guys. But I promise I'll do better next time. Hope you like this one. It's a little short.

-McDiggin'It

...

Chapter Six:

...

The smell of cigarettes and cheap booze wafts up Morgause's nose as she enters the small pub down the street from her and Morgana's shared apartment. Anger fills her yet again as she's reminded of Morgana's most recent fuck up. Of course, Morgana had fucked up before, but never like this. Before, she'd nearly blow their cover when she'd refuse to let their target touch her anywhere below the waist. Whereas in this case, she's decided to run off to Italy and play house with the target for two bloody weeks!

She grumbles to herself upon seeing the man she's there to meet.

"Morgause." He goes to stand up, but she waves him back down as she takes her seat across from him.

"Have you got the stuff we talked about on the phone?"

"Ah, right to business."

"The stuff, Cenred." Morgause growls.

Cenred gives her a look of mock disappointment. "Oh come on, Morgause. We're friends, right?"

Morgause rolls her eyes at the man. "Cenred, we stopped being friends the moment you ratted on us to the cops, and we had to move to America for 2 years just to lay low."

Cenred huffs, "What would you have me do?" he asks in exasperation. "The cops found my hideout, tossed my place, and threatened me with a sentence of 20 to life… I had to tell them where you lived, in exchange for just 5 years in the slammer and a year on probation. Be thankful I didn't tell them your real names."

"Oh, fuck you Cenred. You would've ratted on us to a serial killer had they dangled a hundred in front of your face."

The man shrugs, "It's business, baby."

Morgause resists the urge to reach out and strangle the man to death. Her jaw clenches and her hands curl into fists. "Call me 'baby' one more time, and I'll end you where you sit… Now do you have the stuff or not?"

Cenred sighs heavily and reaches to his right side, pulling up a small duffle bag, dropping it on the table between them.

The blonde immediately unzips it, looking inside and checking it's contents.

"It's all there. Passports, all the documents you'd need to pull off your new identities, disposable phones, and the 9 millimeters you requested."

Morgause nods in satisfaction. "At least your'e good for something."

"And my money?"

Morgause glares at him. "I'll be dropping it off tonight at Marty's. Pick it up from there."

"And if you don't show?"

The woman smiles precariously, "Well, then you can go ahead and do what you do best, and rat on us again, Cen." she rises from her seat, shouldering the duffle bag and turning to leave, but Cenred stops her yet again.

"And our agreement?" Cenred grins sinisterly.

Morgause's smile falters and she looks over shoulder to glare at the man on the table. "I'll talk to Morgana."

Cenred's grin slides off his face. "You said she'd agree to it."

This time, Morgause laughs as she turns fully and glares menacingly at the man. "Morgana is more likely to walk through fire than to spend a full half hour alone with you. So it'll be a bit tricky trying to talk her into spending a whole night with you." with that, Morgause leaves, wondering how she's going to explain to Morgana that she'd just bargained her away for a night with that traitorous rat when she gets back.

...

Morgana waits for a few minutes before searching the entire room for anything Merlin may have left behind. It's not likely that he'll leave anything of importance behind, but there's no harm in looking.

After nearly an hour of searching, she finally finds a locked briefcase in a secret compartment behind his wardrobe. It took about half an hour for her to figure out how to open the compartment alone. But the briefcase can only be opened with Merlin's fingerprint.

She makes a few calls, first to Gwen, then to Lancelot, who tells her that a biometric briefcase is impossible to open without a fingerprint. The only other way to get into the briefcase, would be to lift one of Merlin's fingerprints from something he's touched, preferably a glass of some sort. She would then have to scan the fingerprint and send it to Lancelot, who will then make her a mold of Merlin's fingerprints.

Morgana groans when she realizes that room service has already cleaned the entire suite spotless and have taken away the glasses that Merlin touched. She would have to wait for his return, and then subtly hide a glass he would touch.

This was proving to be much harder than she thought. Of course, she didn't think it would be easy, but at least when she was with her team, she could always have them send surveillance cameras and gadgets she would need to get the job done. But her team is a thousand miles away and all she brought with her is her tiny purse which held a cellphone, a tube of lipstick, mascara, eyeliner, and a pen. Completely useless! She groans again and as if on cue, her cellphone rings.

Morgause's annoyed tone jumps through at her, letting her know that she has already sent 3 people from their team to assist her and tail Merlin, also mentioning the fact that their mission is blowing their money instead of making them rich. Sighing heavily, Morgana puts the briefcase back in the compartment, careful to leave it exactly how she found it. There's no telling how much attention Merlin pays to detail.

She shuts her phone off, not wanting anymore frustrations and distractions, before getting ready for dinner with Merlin. She dresses herself in an elegant blue designer dress before fixing her hair up into a French twist braid that hangs over her right shoulder. She nervously checks the time every few minutes or so, and wonders if Merlin will be getting ready there or somewhere else.

At exactly 6:30p.m, there's a knock at the door.

Checking her reflection in the mirror one last time, she quickly makes her way over and pulls it open. Instead of pure sexiness in a suit, she finds Lancelot with a frown on his face and a large bag slung over his shoulder. Her eyes widen in terror as she looks around quickly, checking for any people randomly roaming around in the hallways, or worse, Merlin. When she's satisfied with the fact that there is absolutely no one around, she drags Lancelot down the hallway and into a maintenance room.

"What are you doing here?" She hisses at him.

He rolls his eyes, "I thought Morgause already told you we were coming."

"She did." Morgana snaps angrily. "But what are you doing knocking on the door to Merlin's suite? You could blow my cover!"

He huffs, "I wouldn't have done so had you not turned your phone off. We tried calling you, but it kept going straight to voicemail."

"So?!" She can't believe he can't see how important this mission is. "That doesn't mean you just come waltzing up to the door and knocking on it like you own the damned place! What if he saw you?"

Lancelot gives her a nonchalant look, "Relax, Morgana. There's no need to get your knickers in a twist, because I already checked to see if he's here before coming."

"How?" Morgana asks skeptically.

He gives her a look as if it were obvious. "I hacked into the Hotel's security and CCTV system, and I checked the logs. He's not even in the building yet."

"But what if someone saw you knocking on the door?"

Lancelot huffs, "I checked, okay?"

This time, she's the one to huff in exasperation. "You couldn't have waited a little while? Until I turn my phone on maybe, and let you know that the coast is clear?"

"Morgause is impatient. She wants results by the end of the week."

"She'll have her stupid results when I get them!"

Lancelot nods and pulls his bag off his shoulder. He takes out a small rectangular box and hands it to her. "You'll need that to lift Merlin's prints... there are a few backing cards, a bottle of latent powder, lifting tape, and and a fiberglass fingerprint brush in there."

Morgana nods wordlessly as she eyes his bag. "Do you have any surveillance cameras in there?"

Lancelot nods and stoops down, pulling out a few, tiny wireless cameras and showing them to Morgana. "Once you get him out of the room, text me and we'll have these planted around the room."

"Tonight…" Morgana tells him. "we're going out for dinner, but you should move quickly."

Lancelot nods and zips up his bag before slinging it over his shoulder. "You should turn your phone on."

"I will. Now, before I go, who else came with you here?" She asks curiously.

"Tony. He's good at following people and not getting caught."

"And?"

"Guinevere."

Morgana's eyes light up that. "Gwen is here?"

Lancelot nods, "She volunteered."

"And Morgause let her?" She asks skeptically. Morgause usually didn't like sending her and Gwen on heists together unless a combination of their particular expertise is required to get a job done.

Lancelot shrugs, "Gwen volunteered. Plus, she thinks she'll be able to pull off a heist alongside this one."

Morgana's dark eyebrows furrow in confusion. "What? From who?"

The man scratches his head and shrugs again, "Someone named Arthur, I believe."

…

Surprisingly enough, Merlin doesn't take her to the restaurant downstairs, instead, asking his driver to take them to a place called, _Ristorante La Fontelina_.

Morgana texts Lancelot immediately, letting him know that they should move as quickly as possible to get the CCTV setup, and make sure they're unseen.

They're seated on the top floor, overlooking a breathtaking view of the sunset over the ocean. They make small talk, and Merlin orders them a bottle of expensive wine as they discuss what Merlin's meeting entailed. He doesn't go into detail, but Morgana expects his tongue will be a little looser after a few more glasses. As their dinner comes to a close, Merlin excuses himself to the restroom, and Morgana does quick work of pulling out a slab of lifting tape, and pulling one of Merlin's print off of his wineglass before stowing it away in her purse.

After dinner, they get driven back to the hotel, where, instead of going back up to the room, they head towards the surf and take a walk on the beach.

Morgana inhales deeply, a content smile spreading across her face as the cool, gentle breeze caresses her skin. She doesn't think she's ever felt this utterly... satisfied.

"When I was a boy," Merlin begins, pulling her from her thoughts. "I used to pretend I was rich… I wanted to be like those boys who had everything they could ever want."

Morgana gives him a curious look, "You weren't born into this life of luxury?"

Merlin shakes his head as he comes to a stop and turns to face her. "It took a long time for me to get here."

She stares at him, wondering how long that could've taken since he doesn't even look 30. And she wonders, "How old are you?" she pauses and gives him an apologetic look. "That is, if you don't mind me asking."

Merlin chuckles and shakes his head, "I don't… I'm 26… but I sometimes feel like I might be closer to a thousand." he jokes.

Morgana chuckles. "You're pretty young for someone of such importance."

"I'm not that important." he says softly.

She looks up into his blue eyes, seeing so much depth in them. This is a man who has seen more than anyone his age should've seen. He's a man of many secrets. A man who doesn't trust easily. A man who knows what he's doing… and it scares her. He's a powerful man indeed. If she continues trying to snoop around him and gets caught, there's no telling what he'd do to her. Of course, he doesn't look like your average man of danger, but that's what makes him so dangerous. He's that guy you would never suspect until the very end. And she cannot afford to mess up. She raises a hand to his face and traces his sharp cheekbone with her thumb. "I think you're a very important man… how else could you find such success at such a young age?"

He shrugs, as he pulls her closer. "I guess I was just lucky."

And there it is. She can feel him, hear him pull away from her. He doesn't trust her at all, which is understandable. They'd just met a mere day ago, and she has her work cut out for her. She knows there's a lot she doesn't know about him. She knows there's more to his story, his life, his success, than just luck. He leans down and places a soft kiss on her lips, and she kisses him back eagerly, hungrily, willingly… And she knows, that this will be, by far, the most complicated heist she's ever going to try to pull.

…

A/N: Ooh, Gwen is a little evil and Morgause is making a few decisions that Morgana won't be very happy with... Again, sorry for the really late and extremely short chapter update. I'll try to update really soon! I have a new romance/humor fit coming up soon called, "When Hell Breaks Loose", so look out for that if you're a Mergana and Arwen fan! Also, the final chapter of "Chasing Merlin" will be posted afterwards. Thanks for reading!

-McDiggin'It


	7. Chapter 7

Title: The Thief

A/N: I'm trying not to be a total douchebag with my updates. But sadly, writing fanfiction doesn't pay my bills, so work and school takes up most of my time. But I promise I'm always writing during my spare time. I appreciate you all for reading this, and I love all of who leave a review when they can. Seriously, you guys are amazing. Anyway, I really hope you like this chapter. Let me know what you think!

-McDiggin'It

...

Chapter Seven:

...

As Merlin and Morgana make their way back to the hotel, Morgana sends a quick text to Lancelot, asking if they're done setting up surveillance. She pretends to look for her lipstick, joking that she wants to reapply it since Merlin devoured most of it off her mouth when he kissed her.

Lancelot texts back in seconds.

 _We need a few more minutes. Cleaning lady interrupted us. We weren't seen, but we're still in the room._

Morgana hides her panic as she follows Merlin into the elevator. Biting her lip, she looks at Merlin, seeing him stare ahead at the doors. Her eyes search the elevator for anything she could use to stall them from going to the room.

And then she sees it. The emergency stop button. Turning her eyes towards Merlin, she waits for him to notice her looking at him, which doesn't take long. The moment he glances her way, she gives him a very suggestive, saucy look. To her relief and pleasure, his eyes darken as he looks her up and down. Then she makes her move, walking right up to him and running her hands sensually over his chest. Wrapping her dainty fingers around his tie, she tugs lightly, and pulls him with her until her back is pressed up against the elevator buttons.

Merlin's lips descend on hers, and she kisses him back with bruising force as one of her hands goes behind her to find the emergency stop button at the bottom right corner of the panel. She prays the button actually works as she jabs her thumb into it and waits with bated breath.

The elevator lurches, causing Merlin to pull away from her kiss and look around the elevator before quirking an eyebrow at her.

She smiles back innocently before hiking up her right leg and wrapping it around his torso. They move fluidly together as if they've done this a thousand times before. Merlin's hands circle her waist, slide down her hips and cup her buttocks before picking her up and pushing her into the elevator walls as their lips fuse together again. Morgana gasps as she wraps both her legs around Merlin's hips, pulling him closer until she could feel every bit of him, grinding against her.

She's burning with desire, the fact that they're in an enclosed space doesn't help at all. If anything, she feels a bit like she's on fire as Merlin's lips descend down her neck, licking, sucking, nipping, and kissing her wherever his lips can reach. A loud moan involuntarily leaves her lips as she tilts her head back to give him better access.

They make love against the elevator doors, Morgana ending up slumping against Merlin and relying on his arms to hold her up because her legs are jelly. Once they've gotten their heart rates and breathing down to normal, they quickly right themselves before Merlin pulls her close to his side and jams his thumb into the top floor button, resuming their trip up to their suite. Morgana can only hope that the others are already gone by now.

As they enter the suite, Morgana subtly looks around, watching for anything out of the ordinary. After a few minutes as Merlin goes to the kitchen and mixes them a drink, Morgana finally lets herself relax and takes a seat on the plush couch. Merlin comes back with two wineglasses filled halfway with some light pink liquid. He hands one to her and takes a sip from his own as he stares at her over the rim.

Morgana offers a shy smile as she takes her first taste of her drink. "Mmmm, Grenache Rose`?" she's familiar with the taste, but she's not exactly sure.

Merlin grins at her and shakes his head. "Close… Tavel Rose`… from the _Cotes du Rhone_." He then looks down at his glass and begins to swirl the wine around. "This was Hemingway's favorite." he says absentmindedly.

"Hemingway?" Morgana asks confusedly.

"Oh, the writer. Ernest. Hemingway." his eyebrows furrow for a second as Morgana does the same. "I read somewhere that he rather enjoyed this particular brand of Rose` wine." he shrugs and sets his glass down on the coffee table before taking a seat next to Morgana.

Morgana stares at him as she too sets her glass down. "Okay." she mutters softly, not sure of what to say to that.

Merlin smiles at her and leans over, brushing a few stray strands of her hair behind her ear.

She knows she must probably look like a hobo or something with her hair down and curtaining part of her face. She hadn't had time to pull it up after they'd had wild, unrestrained, and mind-blowing sex inside an elevator of all places, thanks to Lancelot and Tony's most recent incompetence. She goes to pull her hair up, but Merlin stops her with a hand around her wrist. "Don't." he murmurs softly as he pulls her hand slowly away, bringing it up to his lips, before he slowly, gently, mesmerizingly presses his lips against the inside of her wrist. "You look like a goddess with your hair like this… wild and perfect just the way it is."

Morgana has to mentally tell herself to keep calm and breathe. It's proving to be hard when he's saying things like that and looking intensely at her like that with those gorgeous blue eyes. And then pressing those talented and sexy lips against her skin. She mentally berates herself for feeling like a bloody silly schoolgirl with a crush. She can feel her face warm up, and it's just so frustrating and confusing for her to feel this way. It's not like this would be the first time he's ever touched her, and even then, it's not even _that_ intimate. He's just kissing her wrist! But still, with that look he's giving her, she swears she's going to melt into a puddle. "You're not too bad yourself." she manages to say in a semi-seductive way. She glances down and grins widely at the tent forming quickly in his trousers. "Not bad at all."

He chuckles. "Well, after that little stunt you pulled in the elevator, you can't blame me for being excited for more."

"Well, I think I can remedy that." Morgana mutters teasingly, laying a hand gently on his thigh.

"You just never cease to amaze me, Alessandra." Merlin whispers oh so softly.

Morgana can't help the disappointment she feels at hearing him call her by a name that isn't hers. And though she knows that this 'relationship' would never amount to anything, she can't help the rush of sadness that fills her, knowing that it isn't real. The _look_ he's giving her isn't real. The things they've _done_ , won't matter when the job is done. So she pulls away.

From her peripherals, she sees his shoulders slump in disappointment, and she glances at him with apologetic eyes.

"Is there something bothering you?" he asks slowly, cautiously.

Morgana shakes her head, "No… it's just," she pauses and looks down at her lap, trying to think of something to say other than 'I just don't want to rob you because I really genuinely like you, and you make me feel things I've never ever felt before in my entire life'. She looks back up at him and bites her lip sheepishly. "I don't want you to think that I'm some slut or something who just goes around shagging guys I barely know in elevators or whatnot… I don't usually do things like this."

He smiles softly at her, his eyes crinkling adorably in the corners as he takes her hand in his again and holds it between his large, warm ones. "I don't think you're a slut. And you don't usually do things like what?" he asks curiously with a joking smile, obviously trying to lighten the mood.

Morgana chuckles lightly and squeezes his hand just a little. "Like agree readily to go with a handsome stranger to Italy for two weeks, sleep with him, have dinner with him, and then practically sexually assault him inside an elevator."

Merlin lets out a laugh as he pulls her closer into his side. He then turns his head and buries his face in her hair, inhaling her scent. "Me neither… but should you ever feel the need to sexually assault me again, I give you full permission to do whatever you want with me." he winks at her as she laughs and smacks him lightly against the chest.

"Should I ever feel the need to sexually assault you again, which by the way will probably be sooner than you think, will you do me one favor?"

"Anything." Merlin says readily and without hesitation.

She leans up so her lips are hovering next to his ear. "Will you leave your shirt off for the remainder of our time here?"

Merlin laughs heartily as he pulls her into his lap and kisses her. When he pulls away a few minutes later, he looks at her with a mischievous glint in his eye. "Only if you do the same."

…

It's nearly dawn when Morgana stirs, blinking slowly as her eyes try to adjust to the darkness. She's a bit disoriented as she tries to remember exactly how she ended up in bed. She turns her head, looking over her shoulder, and seeing Merlin's slumbering form snoring softly behind her. She bites her lip when she realizes that his very warm hand, is cupping her naked breast, and his naked front is pressed comfortably into her naked back. Ignoring the way her body fits his like a glove, the dark haired girl gently removes his hand and slides out of bed slowly, careful not to wake up the man behind her.

She quickly finds his discarded shirt from last night and slips into it, briefly inhaling his scent as she tiptoes across the room to her purse. She pulls out her phone, throws a look over her shoulder at Merlin, and then walks into the next room to make a phone call.

It takes about three rings, but Gwen finally picks up. "It's too early." the girl mutters groggily. "Why are you even awake?"

Morgana resists the urge to roll her eyes. No point in doing it anyway with no one looking at her. "I'm not exactly here for a vacation, Gwen." she hisses quietly. "I need to know what exactly Lance and Tony got set up last night."

At that, Gwen snorts, sounding extremely wide awake. There's a sound of rustling fabric before she begins to chuckle mischievously on the phone. "Some hidden cameras, a couple of microphone transmitters, receivers, and a landline bug."

Morgana's eyes narrow dangerously as she walks over to the clock on top of the fireplace and inspects it. "Where exactly did they install the cameras and microphone transmitters?"

Gwen goes silent for a moment before muttering, "Everywhere."

The emerald-eyed girl has to bite her lip hard to stop herself from screaming into the phone. "Everywhere? What do you mean everywhere?"

"You want the blunt truth, or should I soften the landing a little."

Morgana inhales sharply and pinches the bridge of her nose as she lifts her face up towards the ceiling. "What can you all see?"

Gwen stifles a giggle, but Morgana could still hear her. "Let's just say that the boys may or may not regret the locations of their cameras."

"Oh God," Morgana groans softly. "What did you all see?"

"Oh I didn't see much. I was a little busy with my own plans, but Lancelot and Tony certainly watched their first live pornography last night." Gwen says cheekily, to which Morgana had to grit her teeth to keep from screeching.

"Tell Lance that I want the location of each and every camera and microphone in the goddamned bedroom, as well as the shower!" she hisses. "And the next time I see him, he better be wearing a mouthguard, and a fucking jock strap because I'm going to give him hell."

Gwen continues to howl with laughter, pausing every few seconds to inhale mouthfuls of air. "Okay, but I'm pretty sure there aren't any cameras or microphone's in the bedroom." she says once her laughter has died down.

"Then how did—,"

"You and Merlin weren't in the bedroom last night… at least not until you fell asleep on the couch and he carried you to bed."

"Oh…" Morgana pauses, remembering that she and Merlin had indeed started going at each other whilst still in the front living room. "He did?" she asks softly, a tiny smile forming on her lips before she quickly frowns, not knowing exactly where Lance and Tony had left the cameras facing. Suddenly feeling uncomfortable, Morgana pulls Merlin's shirt closed around her and quickly buttons it up as she uses her shoulder to hold her phone to her ear.

"Yes… If we weren't trying to rob from him, I'd totally root for you and him, but…" she lets that last part hang off of the conversation, knowing that Morgana won't really want to talk about it. "…so what's happened so far? I know that you two are sexually active… _extremely_ sexually active," she couldn't resist saying cheekily. "but what have you found out about him so far?"

Morgana sighs heavily and glances at the door to the bedroom. "Nothing so far. He's a bit closed off, but I didn't want to pry too much in case he gets paranoid or something and throws an up extra security.. I need him to really trust me."

"Okay, but you know Morgause is expecting some information by the end of this week."

"I know… I've got his prints already, I just need to get them to Lance. Let him know that I'll text him with the details of where I'm going to drop the prints."

"Okay. Anything else?"

Morgana bites her lip, "Yes."

"What is it?"

"Arthur… you're going to pull a heist on him?"

Gwen goes silent for a moment as the sound of rustling fabric ensues again. "Not really…"

"What does that even mean?" Morgana asks incredulously.

Gwen sighs heavily, "Look, I don't really trust these phones. I always get the feeling that Morgause has our phones bugged or something."

Morgana nods wordlessly, knowing that exact feeling. "Okay. We'll talk about it later… I have to go before Merlin wakes up." she whispers.

"Okay." Gwen says quickly. "And Morgana?"

"Yes?" Morgana asks softly under her breath.

"Be careful."

Morgana nods slowly. "I will." she hangs up, slowly lowering her phone as she continues to stare out the window. The sun is slowly beginning to rise.

"You will what?"

Morgana nearly jumps out of her skin, a yelp leaving her mouth as she whirls around to find a shirtless Merlin leaning against the door to the bedroom with a curious look on his face. "Jesus Christ." she mutters, laying a hand over her racing heart.

"No, just me." Merlin says cheekily as he crosses the room and pulls her towards him, placing a quick peck to her lips. "Who were you talking to?" Merlin asks softly as he turns her around and wraps an arm around her torso, pulling her back into his chest. She immediately relaxes against him, although she knows she's supposed to be feeling anything but relaxed.

"Errr, my mother." she lies easily. "It's midnight over there in New York, and she couldn't sleep, so she called to check how I'm doing."

Merlin nods as he presses his lips into the side of her neck, his tongue venturing out to lick at her pulse point. "That's good."

Morgana's breath catches in her throat as his hand moves from her naked stomach and sweeps down to cup her equally naked mound. Unsurprisingly, she finds herself already getting wet as his deft digits begin to caress her sensitive skin. "We should… move to the bedroom." she whispers shakily, even as her eyes begin to close against her will.

"Mmmm, no this is fine where we are." he says huskily, his hands bunching up her- his shirt, and whispering seductively into her ear. "You look better in my shirt than I do."

"I do." she agrees, her voice coming out in a breathy whisper.

Merlin gently nips at her earlobe and she yelps as he inserts a finger inside her. "I want you right here and now."

Glancing around, Morgana glares hard and menacingly at every single possible object where one would hide a camera. If Lance and Tony are watching, they'll know what's good for them just by her glares. And so help them, she will wring both of their necks if they avoid her silent message and continue to watch her and Merlin like they're some bloody perverts. Her thoughts are cut short when Merlin pulls her back away from the window, and then bends her over so her hands are pressed up against the glass, and her buttocks is in direct alignment with his groin. She can only moan loudly as all else is forgotten, and all that is left is the feeling of Merlin's hands and body, pleasuring her. It's oddly erotic to be taken like this, in front of a large, head-to-toe, clear glass window, overlooking the entire hotel pool, bar, grill, and romantic gardens.

…

A/N: In case you haven't noticed, this chapter is clearly a light one, with pure Mergana goodness. I know there isn't much smut, but the couple still has a good week and a half in romantic Italy. I wanted the connection between our favorite couple to really flow in this one. Next chapter will bring in Gwen and Arthur to the mix, and Morgause's reaction to finding out from Lance exactly what Morgana has been up to. Hope you all liked this. Please review and let me know what you think. Good? Bad? Meh? Anything and everything is welcomed.

-McDiggin'It


	8. Chapter 8

Title: The Thief

A/N: So lets get the ball rolling a little for this plot. I know the previous chapters were moving a little slow, but I promise it'll start making sense in the later chapters. Anyway, thanks for reading! R&R!

-McDiggin'It

...

Chapter Eight:

…

It takes two days, but Morgana finally gets the text from Gwen, notifying her that they've gotten Merlin's fingerprint mold done. She waits for him to leave for his conference before calling Gwen. "Have Lance drop it off in the maintenance room down the hall." she says immediately, not wanting to waste time.

"Of course, but I think there's something you should know about your Merlin."

"What is it?" Morgana asks, ignoring Gwen's reference to Merlin as hers.

"Well, remember how we ran his name and couldn't find much information about him?"

Morgana bites her lip, "Yes."

"Well, that's because his name, doesn't match the name that popped up when we ran his prints in the U.K government registry."

Morgana slowly gets up and begins to pace the living room. "He has a different name?"

"Yes. The first name is still Merlin, and surprisingly, hundreds of people are named Merlin,… but his last name isn't Emrys… in fact, his last name is Dragoon."

"Dragoon?" Morgana asks incredulously. "What kind of surname is that?"

"Right?… so we ran his real name in the police database, and guess what we found?"

"What?" Morgana asks impatiently, yet warily.

There's a pregnant pause before Gwen finally replies. "Nothing. This guys records are squeaky clean. Not a single thing popped up for both of his names. And that's not even the weird and suspicious part."

"Go on." Morgana listens intently.

"According to Lance, the only existing files he could find on Merlin, are dated to exactly 10 years ago, around the same time that he suddenly became the richest man in Great Britain."

Morgana's eyebrows furrow for a few moments as she stares at the glass window. "You're saying he has no other existing records before that?"

"That's exactly what I'm saying. Ten years ago, your rich boyfriend didn't even exist… and now he's the richest man in all of Great Britain."

Morgana honestly doesn't know what to say about any of this. She of course was a little suspicious of how Merlin earned his fortune, but… now it's just been solidified. But it still doesn't make much sense. "What about his estate in London? That place has been there for ages... how did Merlin suddenly own it?"

"I don't know... it seems there's a lot we don't know about him."

Morgana bites her lip and runs a hand through her hair. This is just great. Some more things for her to dig through! She's going to find out how he rose to such a level of fortune, and why he practically didn't exist ten years ago. And she's going to find out soon.

…

They're laying in bed on top of the covers, naked as the day they were born. Merlin is laying on his back, staring up at the ceiling, and Morgana is laying on her belly, with her chin propped up on his hard stomach, her right arm draped over his chest, drawing random patterns on his bicep with her fingers.

"So..." Morgana says in a absentminded tone. "Where are your parents?" This would be the first time she has ever asked about his family.

Merlin shrugs his shoulders, "Dead." His tone is nonchalant as he begins playing with a strand of her hair.

Morgana turns her head, pressing her cheek into his stomach as she stares into his eyes. "I'm sorry... I didn't know."

Merlin is already shaking his head at her, a soft smile forming on his lips. "Don't be... it was a long time ago."

Morgana nods, pausing for a moment before asking softly, "How did they pass away?"

Merlin is silent for a long while before he finally replies, his voice but a whisper. "My father was murdered... and my mother died years later, taken by an ailment." He doesn't explain further and Morgana doesn't pry. To know that your father was murdered... it must be really hard. Of course, he could be lying, but who's to say he isn't? So she says nothing as she pulls her arm back from his chest and gently caresses his jaw.

She turns her head, pressing her lips against his stomach and peppering his skin with soft kisses. It's her way of saying she's sorry about his parents deaths. He smiles at her and runs his hands gently through her hair.

"We should do something." He says softly.

Morgana nods against him but doesn't stop kissing him. "We _are_ doing something." She mutters against his skin.

Merlin chuckles lightly as he takes her chin in his hand and turns her head so she's looking at him. He slips out of bed and presses his lips against hers. "I meant we should get out of the room. Go see the city or something."

At this, Morgana's eyes light up with excitement. She's always wanted to explore Italy, and she didn't think that the richest man in all of Britain would want to go out and explore anything. "I would love that." She murmurs.

An hour and a half later, Morgana and Merlin are walking side by side, hand in hand, while each enjoying a cone of vanilla gelato.

Morgana tries and fails several times to push away the thoughts going through her head. Like how right it feels to be here with him, doing such mundane things. How this feels more like a date than any real date she's ever been on. How her hand fits perfectly in his. How easy it is to lose her true self with him. They talk and laugh, enjoying the breeze as their driver follows closely behind them in a black Rolls-Royce. At the end of the night, Morgana's stomach is full with Italian desserts, and her heart is filled with joy and… something else she can't afford to think about.

As their driver takes them back to the hotel, Morgana stares out the window, trying to sort out her priorities. _You are here on a mission… to rob Merlin- whatever-his-lastname-is! Not fall in love with him!_ She chants that repeatedly to herself for the remainder of the ride back, but it doesn't really work. The moment Merlin takes her hand again, she finds herself right back to square one. And still no real progress on what she's really there to do. Tomorrow morning, when he leaves the room, she'll finally be able to push things into full swing. For now, she turns her brain off and lets Merlin pick her up and carry her to the bedroom in their suite. Tonight, she just wants to enjoy his touch, his kisses, his taste, his body, before she finds out whats in his biometric briefcase.

…

Morgana is pulled from her deep slumber at a loud knock coming from the front door of the suite. She groans, rolling over and squinting her eyes open to find that Merlin isn't beside her. Sitting up, she looks around the room, searching for her clothes. She ends up wearing a bathrobe instead because her clothes look absolutely wrinkled and she just doesn't feel like going through that closet of luxurious dresses and such at the moment. Just as she's about to go into the living room, the door swings open and Merlin steps through, smiling widely at her. "Guess who's here?"

Morgana quirks an eyebrow at him. There's only one person currently in Italy that they mutually know, so she goes with, "Arthur?"

Merlin chuckles, nodding his head. "And he brought a friend."

Okay, she has no idea who that friend could be. "Who?"

Morgana follows him as he gestures for her to do so, moving into the living room. She first sees Arthur, already holding a glass of dark red liquid, and grinning widely at her. "Alessandra!" he greets gleefully, then moves aside and smiles at his 'friend'. "I believe you've already met Odette?"

Morgana finds herself staring at her best friend and 'work' partner, smiling at her. It's subtle, but Morgana could easily spot the apologetic look on Gwen's face, conveying that she had no idea they would be meeting like this. "Oh, of course." Morgana plays it off cool and steps forward to shake Gwen's hand. "We met on the night of the auction in London."

Gwen nods, giving her the best genuinely friendly smile she has. "Yes we did. It was such a great pleasure to meet you."

"And you as well." Morgana returns, and glances over to Merlin, finding the tall, handsome man grinning at her.

Arthur turns and looks at Merlin and shrugs his shoulders in question, "Shall we all have breakfast downstairs?"

Merlin nods and looks at Morgana's bathrobe. "How about you ladies get acquainted while we go downstairs and flag us a private booth? And once you're done getting dressed," he says specifically to Morgana, "… join us downstairs at the in-house cafe`."

"What about your conference?" Morgana asks, trying to sound nonchalant.

Merlin shrugs, "Arthur and I will be attending it later."

Morgana nods, smiling at him as he pulls her close and kisses her cheek. "I'll see you soon." he whispers before turning to Arthur who does the same with Gwen. The two men then leave the room, talking animatedly about each others week so far.

As soon as the door closes, Morgana turns and shoots a pointed stare at Gwen. "What's going on?" she whispers as she pulls Gwen into the bedroom.

Gwen begins giggling for a moment before replying with, "I had no idea we were coming here. In fact, I thought we were just going to stay in his room, but—,"

"Arthur is staying here?" Morgana interrupts.

Gwen nods, "He just checked in at one of the presidential suites this morning after he picked me up from the airport."

"The airport?" Morgana asks confusedly.

"When he called me while I was still in London, he told me that he wanted me to come here and spend the week with him. So I agreed, but told him that I wouldn't be able to make it until this morning, which is of course a lie because I've been here for 3 whole days, trying to help Lance and Tony set up. I took a cab early this morning to the airport so Arthur could pick me up from there."

Morgana narrows her eyes at Gwen. "And why didn't you tell me this before? You gave him your number?"

Gwen shrugs, "I didn't think it would be important." She laughs, then gives Morgana a pointed look. "Besides, it's not like I just up and left with him on the first night I met him." She says jokingly.

Morgana gives her a scathing look and rolls her eyes as she leads the way to the closet to find something to wear. "Okay… I guess the briefcase can wait until later."

Gwen nods in agreement. "Yeah… We have two sexy men waiting for us downstairs. The briefcase will _have_ to wait until later."

…

Morgause paces, cursing under her breath and trying not to smash the large mirror in the corner of her and Morgana's apartment. In the other corner, sat one of her informants, cowering by the couch as he stares at her.

"Those were Lancelot's exact words?" Morgause asks in a dangerous, low tone.

"Yes." The informant, Perry replies in a whisper. "Morgana is sleeping with the-"

"Shut up, Perry!" Morgause snaps furiously. "I heard you the first time!" She turns to a wall, and takes a deep breath, closing her eyes as she tries to compose herself. This, is the first time her sister has done something like this. Usually she wouldn't care what Morgana does as long as she's getting the job done, but it's been nearly a week and there hasn't been a single bloody progress. Nothing at all. It's so unlike Morgana. And to be sleeping with the victim?! _What the bloody fuck did I miss?!_ Morgause glares at the wall as she orders Perry to leave. She has a few phone calls to make.

The first person she calls, is Cenred. "The deal is off." is the first thing she says when he answers.

"What?" Cenred asks bewilderingly. "No, you gave me your word that Morgana will be mine for one night." he argues, his voice bordering on desperation.

"Well that's just too bad, Cenred. Because it seems like Morgana is already someone else's."

There's a pregnant pause, followed by a colorful string of words from Cenred. "What the fuck does that even mean?!" he exclaims in anger.

"Exactly what I said."

"She's sleeping with someone already?"

"As it seems, yes. She's sleeping with our newest target."

There's another pause, and then Cenred is laughing rather humorlessly. "Morgana doesn't sleep with anyone, Morgause. You're lying to me."

Morgause scoffs, rolling her eyes as she glares at her reflection in the mirror. "Oh, I wish I was lying, Cen. I really do. But I'm not, and I don't care if you believe me. The deal is off."

"Why? I don't care who else she's sleeping with, I just want my night with her."

Morgause doesn't resist the urge to swear at Cenred before telling him off. "You know what? I don't bloody give a damn what you want, the deal is off and that's that."

"What if I offer you something else?"

Morgause rolls her eyes, "You have nothing I want."

Cenred chuckles in that way that she really hates, "Oh I think I do."

Morgause finally moves over to the couch and takes a seat on it, draping one of her legs over the other. "I'm listening."

"There's a guy…"

"Cenred, I'm going to stop you right there. I'm not going to meet up with one of your sad excuses for a dealer again—,"

"He's not a dealer!" Cenred protests. "This guy is the real deal. A business man."

"What kind of business?" Morgause asks skeptically.

"He's the head of a secret organization that mostly dabbles in Art consignation."

Morgause makes a face at that, "Art… He sells art?"

Cenred grunts in response. "Not just any art. Masterpieces. _Priceless_ works of art."

"And how does he go about obtaining this art?"

Cenred snorts, "No one knows… But he's able to do all of this without getting caught."

Morgause thinks for a moment, then asks suspiciously, "If it's a secret organization, then how do you know about it?" Morgause questions dubiously.

Cenred's tone when he answers, is that of offense. "Give me some credit, Morgause. I have many contacts around the world that you'd be impressed with."

"Oh I don't know." she mutters sarcastically. "After that stunt you pulled on us a few years back, I've become less and less impressed with your work, and even more doubtful of your contacts." Morgause knows better than to trust Cenred of all people, so she's going to have to do some digging of her own, but he at least sounds genuinely excited. "So why are you telling me about this guy?"

Cenred is almost gushing when he replies, "Because he's looking for people like you."

"People like me?"

"Yes." Cenred replies, and Morgause could almost hear him nodding up and down like the bloody idiot he is. "Professionals at what you do. Clean, careful, cautious, unseen... and get this." He pauses as if for effect. "He's paying big bucks for a job you could do in your sleep."

"What kind of job are we talking about?" Morgause asks skeptically.

"Stealing… he's really good at reading people too, so if you consider this and get serious about it, he'll know and he'll find you."

 _Interesting_. Morgause strokes her chin as she thinks about what Cenred has told her so far. The guy, whoever he is, sounds like someone who really knows what he's doing… and that's the kind of person she's been looking for. A business man who understands the art of stealing, and knows what he's doing. "And what's this guys name?" she asks curiously.

"Nobody knows. All _anyone_ knows is the name he calls himself."

Morgause waits, and irritatedly snaps at the idiot when he doesn't tell her. "Well are you going to tell me what the bloody hell it is?!"

Cenred huffs, "The Hawk of the Plain."

"Seriously?" Morgause asks in bewilderment. "What the bloody hell kind of name is that?" This was getting fishier and fishier by the minute. "It sounds like something out of a comic book!"

"It's a pseudonym! You don't expect him to use his real name, do you?"

Morgause ignores that little quip at her expectations, but growls angrily.

"Look I know you don't trust me," Cenred says quickly in a soft tone, mindful of Morgause's temper. "but this could be the opportunity you've been looking for. I can get you a meeting with this guy, and all you have to do, is persuade Morgana to spend one night with me."

Morgause sighs heavily in annoyance, "Cenred, why are you so obsessed with Morgana? Why don't you just hire a prostitute to do whatever twisted shit is going through your head?"

"Let's just say that the twisted shit going through my head, involves Morgana."

Morgause makes a disgusted face. She loves her sister, and she doesn't really plan on just bargaining her away to Cenred. All she can do is try to talk Morgana into it… she snorts, knowing that that is a very _very_ , (impossible) long shot. but this Hawk of the Plain guy sounds like something she could look into.

Cenred clears his throat loudly, "So do we have a deal?"

Morgause shakes her head. The consignor job sounds too good to be true. Stealing art is practically useless. Stealing a world famous piece of art, will take away the true value of it. No one would buy it, and no one on the black market is rich enough or stupid enough to purchase such a work of art. It's the reason she never gave a second thought on stealing art. But Cenred is right about one thing... If this guy is legit, it's an opportunity she almost can't turn down. "See what you can do about setting up a meeting with your Hawk guy, and I'll think about it." With that, she ends the call and dials her sisters number. There's a lot they need to discuss.

…

A/N: Ok, What the heck is going on here?!… Hmmm, stick around and find out. Nothing is as it seems, isn't it? Well, I hope that's enough to keep you on the edge of your seats until my next update. Up next, Morgana finally opens that briefcase, Morgause makes another deal with Cenred, and maybe some more reveals! Thanks for reading, and please review! I will be posting "Outdrink Me" next! :) Thanks for reading!

-McDiggin'It


	9. Chapter 9

Title: The Thief

…

Chapter Nine:

…

It takes about 20 minutes for Morgana to finally get Merlin out of bed the morning after their night out with Gwen and Arthur. It would've taken a lot less if Merlin hadn't insisted on Morgana refreshing his memory from last night, claiming to have forgotten what exactly they did before they finally passed out.

Morgana laughs as she watches the naked, handsome man finally slide out of bed and stretch his arms up above his head. He grins and winks at her as she admires his hard body. She supposes though, his body isn't entirely perfect. He has a scar on his hip, in the shape of a small star, and another one below the back of his neck, right between his shoulder blades. She had asked him about it two days ago, but all she got was a shrug and a mumble about them being from his younger years. She didn't ask about them again, but she kisses each scar, every time she can.

Her eyes follow his every movement as he nakedly goes to the closet, pulls it open and begins to search for something to wear to his final meeting. Today, Morgana notes silently, will also be the day when she will finally get that briefcase open. And whatever it is she's going to find, will either solve her problems with Morgause, add more problems to the ones she has now, or completely blow this mission.

An hour and a half later, Merlin leaves and Morgana finds herself alone. She quickly calls Gwen, before proceeding to get the fingerprint mold of Merlin's hand which she hid inside a small vent in the maintenance room down the hall. Gwen meets her back in the suite, and together, they retrieve the briefcase from its hiding spot inside the closet.

"What do you think is inside?" Gwen asks curiously as Morgana begins to fit a single finger mold onto her index finger.

Morgana shakes her head and takes a deep breath. "I have no clue, but I seriously hope it's something Morgause will be happy with."

Gwen sighs and stares at her friend. "You know, I was watching you and Merlin last night."

Morgana's head snaps up at that and she blinks at the olive-skinned girl. "That's not creepy at all, Gwen." she says sarcastically, to which the other girl rolls her eyes.

"I meant while you two were with Arthur and I."

Morgana sighs, "I know what you meant."

"And?"

Morgana shrugs her shoulders as she tries to fit the finger mold perfectly onto her finger. "And nothing… you know what we're really here for."

Gwen stares disbelievingly at her friend. "What?" she shakes her head, refusing to accept her friends nonchalant answer. "Morgana, I know you're in love with this guy. Whether you want to admit it or not, you are in love with him, and I'm pretty damned sure he's in love with you too."

Morgana could feel the tears begin to sting in her eyes as she glares down at the fingerprint mold. "It doesn't matter how anyone feels. I'm finishing this mission."

"You could end it all here, Morgana." Gwen argues. "No one but Morgause and the team would know. You won't have to tell Merlin anything—,"

"I can't!" Morgana shouts angrily, her breath becoming shallow as she stares at her best friend through her tears. "I could never be with him! Not like this… I want a normal life, Gwen. A life without secrets, or lies, or looking over my shoulder every bloody ten minutes." she sobs and stares down at the carpet. "I just can't be with him and lie to him… he doesn't deserve that. He's… he's amazing, and kind, sweet, and gentle… and you were right."

"About what?" Gwen asks softly.

Morgana finally gets the mold to fit perfectly onto her finger and looks up at Gwen. "You were right about me falling for him… but we both know that if he finds out what, and who I really am, he won't feel the same way."

Gwen says nothing as Morgana finally pulls the briefcase towards her and looks down at the biometric lock. She wipes away her tears on her sleeves as she glances towards her friend. "Did Lance mention any precautions?"

Gwen shakes her head. "If the print is fitted perfectly, and the case is really Merlin's, it should be fine."

Morgana nods, takes a deep breath, and finally presses her mold-covered finger against the biometric scanner. It takes a few seconds, and then there are three short beeps, green lights blinking, and a single audible click. Morgana and Gwen exchange looks of relief before Morgana finally unlatches the corners and pulls the case open.

…

Morgause finds herself getting extremely skeptical about her deal with Cenred as she waits for him in the abandoned warehouse he had told her to meet him at. It wouldn't be the first time she's been skeptical of him, and she knows that as long as she's dealing with Cenred, it certainly won't be the last. She should stop all deals with him, but she needs him. Despite the fact that she utterly despises the bloody idiot, he always comes through with their deals. Don't get her wrong, she doesn't trust him with her life or anything… but she understands that he's just doing his job. He's good at his job… but he's also a perverted rat.

Sighing heavily to herself, Morgause checks her watch for the umpteenth time in the ten minutes since she arrived. After a few more moments, she finally sees a black truck turn into the warehouse and park a few yards away from her black, old-school Camaro. She watches as the door to the truck opens, and Cenred emerges, carrying a briefcase. He's dressed in his usual dark clothing, a toothpick poking out from between his lips as he makes his way towards her car.

Morgause finally jumps out, a hard frown and a glare already aimed at Cenred. "You're late."

"Traffic." Cenred shrugs. "I got what you asked for."

Morgause nods to him. If he weren't so perverted and full of lies, she would've actually considered asking him to officially join their team… but then again, he would be a horrible thief. The man is full of suspicious traits that a 4 year old could spot from a mile away. Shaking her thoughts away, Morgause looks at the case. "So did you bring it?"

Cenred nods and hands her the briefcase. "Everything you need is in there."

"And he wants to meet me?"

Cenred scratches his neck nervously. "He does… but it's a lot sooner than you think."

Morgause studies his nervous look and her eyebrows furrow at him. "How soon?"

Before Cenred could reply, a sleek black Chevrolet pulls into the warehouse.

Morgause instinctively reaches for the 9millimeter handgun she had holstered in the back of her jeans, pulling it out and aiming at the Chevy. Cenred's eyes widen as he hisses at her to put her weapon away. "It's him!" he says warningly.

Morgause doesn't move as she stares at the vehicle with narrowed eyes. "How do I know this isn't a setup?"

Cenred huffs and rolls his eyes. "You don't… look, it took a lot of convincing on my part to get you a meeting with this guy. And aiming a gun at his vehicle won't bode well for the both of us."

Despite her better judgement, Morgause finally puts her weapon back and stares at the Chevy. It takes a few long moments, but finally, the back door opens, and a man steps out of the vehicle and approaches them. He's tall and skinny with pale skin, dark green eyes, and a shifty look about him. He stops just a few feet away from them and looks directly at Morgause. "My boss wants to speak with you."

Morgause glances at Cenred who gives her a reassuring nod. She hesitates for a mere moment before nodding and following the man. Cenred moves to follow them, but the man suddenly turns and looks at Cenred with a stern gaze.

"He wishes to speak with her, alone." he gestures to Morgause with his hand, waiting for Cenred to nod and step back before continuing to the vehicle.

When Morgause reaches the car, she is lead to the side towards the backdoor. The windows are dark tinted, so all she can see is a dark silhouette of a man sitting inside. The window rolls down only a quarter of the way so all she can see is the top of the mans dark hair.

"Your friend there tells me that you are one of the best at what you do." His voice is velvety and deep, and his tone is sharp.

Morgause glances skeptically at Cenred. There's no telling what he told this guy. She looks back, feeling awkward to be talking to a window. "He's not my friend, and I believe he said something similar about you."

The man turns his head towards her, and Morgause could tell that she had said something he didn't like. "We are nowhere near the same level, Morgause… I know things you've never even thought of. I've seen things you can barely imagine… I've done things you can only dream of."

Morgause finds herself angry at that. Who the hell does this guy think he is? Yet still, she can't deny, she's intimidated, which is rare. And she doesn't like the feeling. "I don't think you know me well enough to deliver such a judgement."

"Oh, but I do know you, Morgause."

Morgause involuntarily swallows as she shifts from foot to foot and stares at the dark glass. "I doubt that." she says.

"Morgause Le Faye, born in London, England on December 14, 1985. You have one sister, your parents died in a car crash, and you're a professional looter. There is not much to your life outside of those things… but you're getting bored with the same routines. You want more. More money, more power… just more." there's a pause and then the man continues. "I can give you more."

Morgause resists the urge to roll her eyes. "Did Cenred tell you those things?"

The man chuckles, "You don't like the fact that someone who you know nothing about, knows a lot about you... it makes you uncomfortable. It makes you paranoid." He states, "But I can assure you, I have no intentions of turning you over to the authority."

Morgause could sense the threat in his voice, despite his words. Never one to back down, she scoffs. "I don't suppose Cenred told you that I'm also really hard to find once I choose to disappear?"

There's a pause before the man speaks again, "Your colleague told me nothing... and trust me. If I wish to find someone, they will without a doubt be found. I have more connections in this world than you could ever fathom, Morgause. It would be wise of you to remember that."

Morgause nods. She's not accepting that this man is the real deal just yet... but she's not denying it either. She hadn't found a single clue on who he could possibly be. So he's either a nobody, or he's really good at what he does. Making up her mind, she looks at the silhouette. She could almost make out the shape of his face. "What do you want me to do?"

"It's simple. I want you to steal for me."

Morgause bites her lip. "And my team?"

"You may keep them on if you choose... but I have rules."

"Rules?" Morgause doesn't really like the sound of that. She's usually the one in charge and the one to give out the rules. She had never been the one to take orders from someone.

"Yes. You'll find all my conditions, rules, and orders for your first operation in the briefcase your colleague gave you earlier. You'll also find your first salary inside it as well."

Morgause continues to chew on her lip in thought. After a few long moments of weighing the pros and cons, she decides that there shouldn't be that much problems. She'll have to look through the case first, but for now, she will agree. With a nod, she says, "We have a deal." And with that, she walks off. Whatever this is, she has a feeling it's going to good. The Hawk of the Plain was right about her getting bored with the same work. She supposes, this would be her big break, and hopefully, it would appeal to her sister and keep her from leaving the team.

...

"What the bloody hell is this?" Morgana mumbles confusedly.

Gwen shakes her head, just as confused as her friend.

Passports, identification cards, social security cards, credit cards, video discs, flash drives, and a small folder containing about a hundred birth certificates.

Morgana picks up a passport and opens it as Gwen starts going through the I.D's each sporting a picture of Merlin, with different names. Morgana shakes her head as she stares down at Merlin's passport. A picture of himself, a different name, and a different birth date. She picks up another and finds the same thing. Another name, another birth date, and a different picture of the same man. "What...?" She trails off as she picks up the folder and looks through the birth certificate, some of which she recognizes has a matching name to some of the passports. Gwen begins going through the credit cards and social security cards, each sporting a different name.

Morgana shakes her head furiously. "What the hell is going on?"

Gwen shakes her head, completely baffled. "More importantly, who the hell is Merlin?"

...

A/N: Not exactly what I had in mind, but I guess it could still fit with my original plot. It just seemed to fit so well! Anyway, I'm sure you're all wondering what the hell is going on, but I guess you'll have to wait to find out! Hope you liked this chapter! Thank you!

-McDiggin'It


	10. Chapter 10

Title: The Thief

…

Chapter Ten:

…

Morgana hides her suspicions and curiosities well… of course, she's really good at acting. By the time Merlin finally returned from his meeting, Gwen was already gone, Lance was already notified, and Morgause is probably being filled in by Lance at this moment. Morgana realizes that she's in a whole different ballpark. Instead of having the leading foot forward, she ended up tripping on Merlin's leading foot, and face planting the floor. Hypothetically, of course. She's right back at square one, not knowing a bloody thing about the man she's been sleeping with for the past week and a half… and it frustrates her.

Not only does she not know what his real name is, she also has nothing to give or tell Morgause. She just knows she's about to get her arse reamed from today to the next month. The only comfort she has, is Merlin himself, and the text message Morgause sent her.

 _Morgause: We need to talk. A new job has come up and it may change your mind about leaving._

She has no intentions of ever getting back into another job that involves theft, and she's pretty sure she made that obvious to her sister.

Somehow, Morgana and Merlin end up watching a movie on the humongous flatscreen TV, and Merlin ends up laying on the couch with his head in her lap. She couldn't help but admire his face, starting from his hard chin, to his sharp jawline, adorable dimples, high and defined cheekbones, long dark lashes, and finally to his jet black hair. She also couldn't help running her fingers through his hair as she watches him.

She hadn't realized it, but she has completely lost track of what she was actually doing there. Merlin had managed to distract her in a way that ensured that she wouldn't find anything out about him… except for the fact that he has a stash of different identities for himself behind his closet. She's baffled. Who is he? What's his story? His real story. Not wanting to have absolutely nothing to tell Morgause, she decides to interrogate the man whose head is in her lap. Subtly, of course. Morgana clears her throat and shifts a little to get Merlin's attention. She inwardly smiles when he turns his eyes from the T.V to look up at her.

"You okay?"

Morgana nods, then sighs. "Yeah, just… bored, is all."

Merlin sits up and picks the T.V remote up from the floor before muting their movie. "How can I change that?" he grins at her in that way that never fails to drive her crazy… but Morgana is determined to find at least one thing about him that's real.

She shrugs her shoulders at him, hoping she looks as nonchalant as her reply of being bored. "I don't know… maybe we could talk?"

The man's eyebrows furrow at her, "Talk?"

Morgana shrugs again, "Yeah… I mean we don't have to, it's just…" she trails off deliberately, playing the part of someone who is a bit frustrated.

"What is it?" Merlin asks curiously.

"It's just… I feel like all we do is have sex, sleep, eat, drink, and have more sex."

Merlin scratches his jaw and quirks an eyebrow at her. "Usually those are good things." he jokes.

"I'm serious." Morgana says sternly. "I know nearly nothing about you, and it makes me uneasy to think that our… relationship is only physical." she bites her lip and stares at her lap. Despite the fact that she's only trying to get him to hopefully confess something worth telling Morgause, she actually means those words. And though she absolutely loves the sex with Merlin, she doesn't want things to just be sex between them. She wants a little more intimacy. A little more emotion, and… to be honest, a little more honesty. Even on her part. She wants to tell him the truth about herself, and she wants to know the truth about him. But what she wants and what she's supposed to be doing are two different things. When she looks back up at the man beside her, he's smiling at her.

"Fine…" Merlin sighs and leans back in his seat. "What do you want to know?"

Morgana smiles at him as she turns in her seat and faces him. "Everything… what was your life like? What were your parents like? Do you have siblings?…" she shrugs and asks softly, "What's your story?"

Merlin nods, staring at her for a very long time. Finally, after what felt like forever to the both of them, he begins, "It's a _very_ long story."

Morgana shrugs and smiles at him. "We have time."

Merlin snorts at that. "We certainly do."

…

Morgause couldn't believe her sister wasn't able to find anything useful about their target. Despite her anger though, Morgause had more important things to attend to. She has already sent her message to Lance and Gwen, and now she's at her desk, reading through the files that came inside the briefcase that Cenred gave her. Among the files, is a disposable phone.

She's pleasantly surprised to find that everything was practically spelled out for her, which will make her job so much easier. In the first file, she found instructions regarding herself and her team, what they are allowed and not allowed to do or say, what the requirements are for them to qualify for the job, and a brief description of what their job entails.

In the second file, is the pay rate, which Morgause finds to be quite impressive. One payment was worth more than her and her team had ever stolen in their whole career as thieves. In the third file, Morgause finds a receipt of supplies they will need to accomplish their job, and a phone number, which she assumes she'll have to call in order to get those supplies.

Finally, in the last file, Morgause finds a single piece of paper. At the very top, is the name of her new contacts. She skims over the names of people she doesn't know until she gets to the bottom. Morgause's eyes widen into saucers as she stares. She did not see that coming.

…

As it turns out, Merlin was born in a small town very far from here. He doesn't give the full details, but it's good enough for Morgana. He's an only child, who was raised by a single mother. His father got into some trouble with some people and had to leave in order to keep them safe. He used to work little jobs here and there as a young boy, until he moved to London and met Arthur. They became fast enemies, until the day he saved Arthur's life from someone who had a score to settle with Arthur's father, Uther. As a way of showing his appreciation, Uther hired Merlin into his company, where he was to work alongside his son. The two then turned from enemies, to best mates, and then finally, business partners. They started their own company, dealing with art, and conducting search groups to scour the world for lost or stolen artworks. He says it's a tricky trade, but a profitable one. Their company was then merged with Uther's company, and together, they became one of the most sought out Art dealers in the world.

Morgana shakes her head in wonder as she stares at him, "How does an art dealer become the richest man in all of Great Britain?"

Merlin chuckles as reaches into his pocket and pulls out his phone. "I've done a lot of research and travelled a lot. In my travels, I've reached a sort of… enlightenment. I see the world a bit differently than everyone else. And because of that new sight and vision, I began to find my expertise in locating lost paintings and artworks among other things, by pinpointing their last recorded locations." he then unlocks his phone and scrolls through a few things for moment before handing it to Morgana. "They cost quite the fortune."

The green-eyed girl takes the device from him and looks, to see a photo of what looks like rows and rows of countless paintings, lined up side by side on a wall. She gasps when she recognizes some of the artworks from her history textbooks from school. She glances at Merlin with wide eyes. "These _cannot_ be authentic."

Merlin smiles as he takes his phone back. "They are. In fact, you'd be surprised to find out how many paintings I've already sold for quite the price. It's a bit tricky trying to get the paintings out there given their history, but if you know the right people, there won't be a problem."

"Wow." Morgana stares at him in awe. "And you said you procured these artworks during your travels?"

Merlin nods and smiles. "It wasn't easy, but I had some help here and there."

"Arthur?"

"And some other people." he shrugs. He sighs as he puts his phone away. "Everything in my estate is my life's work. You can take everything I have, but not the artwork. Those artworks mean more to me than anything I've ever owned."

"Why? They're just artworks..." she trails off and studies his face silently. "Surely you have more important things in your life."

Merlin smiles sadly at her and shakes his head. "They're _more_ than just artworks. They're like my life's timeline in a way."

Morgana's heart breaks at that, and she makes a mental note to tell Morgause not to touch Merlin's collection of artwork when they pull the heist. She'll do the stupid job that Morgause had mentioned in her text, but that's it. After that job (if Morgause agrees not to touch the artwork), she's done for good.

Besides all of that, Morgana's brain works at a hundred miles per minute, putting Merlin's story together. There's still quite a lot of details that don't make sense, like his many different passports, but she puts that down to him possibly having to get different identities in order to stay out of the spotlight. After all, he is the richest man in Great Britain, and there are a lot of people who are out to get to his money… Like herself. That thought makes her sick to her stomach.

After their movie, the couple order pizza and wine, and Morgana can't help but feel safe and at home right there with the man she has come to admire so much. She can't deny that she's grown used to having him around. In three days, they'll be heading back to London. He will return to whatever he's been doing before they met, and she's going to go back to the life of lies, theft, and chaos that she's been living in since the day her parents died. And she feels her heart sink at the thought of going back there. When they get back, she'll have to keep seeing him, keep lying to him, and keep deceiving him until he trusts her enough to really let her into his life and home… and then she'll have to steal from him. She wants more than anything to just walk away from her life of deceit and theft, but she knows she can't. One way or another, her past will catch up to her, and she doesn't know if she'll be able to handle that once she fully gives herself to Merlin. So she steels herself and continues to do her job.

While Merlin is in the shower later on in the night, Morgana finally checks her phone. She has 2 missed calls from Morgause, so she decides to call her back and get this over with. Hopefully this new information will calm her sister down a bit.

…

Morgause had just ended her phone call with Cenred, setting up what they need to get this new job done, when her cellphone vibrates again. She's immensely relieved when she sees her sisters name flashing across the screen. She answers with her usual tone of impatience. "What took you so long?"

"In case you haven't noticed, I'm living with our target at the moment, sister."

Morgause could almost see her sisters eyes rolling in annoyance. "Lance filled me in earlier… you said you were going to get some progress!"

Morgana looks over her shoulder as she moves to the window in the living room. "I did... Merlin's estate isn't just filled with money or luxurious items and jewelries... he also has-"

"Priceless artworks." Morgause finishes for her sister. "I know."

Morgana is speechless for a moment before she asks shakily, "How do you know this?"

"Remember the new job I texted you about?"

"Yeah." Morgana nods to herself.

"Check your phone. I sent you something."

Furrowing her eyebrows in confusion, Morgana pulls her phone away from her ear and sees the screen light up with a link from Morgause. In the link, is a picture of some sort of documented paper. "What's this?" She asks, though she doesn't exactly expect an answer as she zooms in on the words in the paper.

 _Location of paintings to be retrieved: Emrys Court_

 _Owner of Estate: Merlin Emrys_

 _Date of extraction: Three days time_

 _Time Set: One hour_

 _Objective: Retrieve all paintings of value_

 _(You will have one professional art authenticator assigned to assist you)._

 _Good luck,_

 _-Hawk of the Plain_

Morgana's heart plummets at that. "What?" Surely she misread that.

"The Hawk of the Plain wants us to steal those artworks." Morgause's voice breaks through her shock.

Morgana's eyes begin to fill with tears of anger. The one thing she told herself she would not do to Merlin, was take his life's work from him, and now her sister wants to do exactly that?! "What?!" She hisses angrily.

"The man he wants us to steal from, is Merlin." Morgause confirms.

Morgana nearly drops her phone, her hands are shaking, but she quickly catches herself and shakes off her shock when she hears the shower shut off. "I have to call you back later." She spat into the receiver. She hangs up immediately and puts her phone away into her purse before sinking into the corner of the couch. _What the bloody hell now?!_

...

A/N: Ooooh! The suspense! I'm so sorry for ending this here. I will update soon! Thank you so much for reading, and I hope you all enjoyed this chapter. Let me know what you think! I'll be updating "He is Mine" next!

-McDiggin'It


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